Hurst Performance
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1969 AMC SC/Rambler emblem incorporating the Hurst logo
Hurst shifter from the 1960s
Hurst Performance, Inc. of
Warminster Township, Pennsylvania, manufactured and marketed products for enhancing the performance of
automobiles, most notably for
muscle cars.
Products
Hurst produced
aftermarket replacement
manual transmission shifters and other automobile performance enhancing parts.
Hurst was also an
Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) supplier for
automakers and provided services or components for numerous muscle car models by
American Motors (AMC),
Ford,
Chrysler, and
General Motors. Their products were included as standard equipment in
AMC's The Machine (also known as the Rebel Machine),
AMC AMXs and
Javelins,
Pontiac GTOs and
Oldsmobile 442s,
Boss Mustang 302 and the
Boss 429, as well as
Dodge Chargers,
Plymouth Barracudas, and
Plymouth Superbirds, among others.
Specialty automobile models produced in cooperation with automakers that incorporated the Hurst
logo or name, included:
Hurst Performance was also the inventor of the "Jaws of Life" — a
hydraulic rescue tool. The company designed a complete
Hurst Rescue System in the early 1970s, a specialty
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) apparatus.
[1] Based on the
AMC Gremlin, it served as a quicker and more compact
emergency vehicle, compared to the traditional
heavy rescue vehicles used at
motorsport race tracks[2] and as a companion vehicle to any highway emergency system.
[3]
History
The original company was called
Hurst-Campbell. It was started
in 1958 as an auto repair company when George Hurst was a young man. An
older man named Lawrence Greenwald (who is credited, among other
things, to be one of the inventors of stretch
nylon hosiery),
took certain cars from his collection to Hurst's shop for repair.
Greenwald saw promise in Hurst and decided to finance him in a venture
to manufacture
aftermarket large bumpers for
VW buses, which were gaining popularity.
When VW started manufacturing its own large bumpers for the buses,
Hurst-Campbell branched out into the piston-driven gearshift business.
They also manufactured, at different times, engine mounts, wheels, and
shift knobs in addition to the line of gearshifts.
In the company's research department, it developed and invented the
Jaws of Life. The company gave away the patent without any compensation.
By the late 1960s, Hurst transmission shifters and other products became legendary in
auto racing, particularly in
drag racing and among
custom car makers. For example, many automobile enthusiasts replaced flimsy factory shifters with Hurst
shifters to obtain better control of gear selection, particularly for competitive driving.
[4] "If you didn't have a Hurst shifter in your supercar, you were a mild-mannered loser."
[4] The units were so good that U.S. automakers were forced to offer Hurst
branded gear sticks on their
muscle car models, although at the time they preferred manufacturing their own parts rather than
outsourcing.
[4]
George Hurst expanded into other specialty performance products
during the 1960s by acquiring Schiefer Manufacturing, a maker of
clutches[5] and Airheart, a maker of
brake systems.
[6]
In 1968, Greenwald and Hurst
took the
company public.
[6] The company was bought out in 1970 by
Sunbeam Products, a maker of
small appliances.
[6] Hurst was promised an executive position and seat on the
board of directors as part of the buyout, but Sunbeam did not follow through.
[6]
(A variation of this account has Sunbeam specifically telling Mr.
Greenwald and Mr. Hurst that they would no longer be part of the
Company.) Greenwald fully retired at age 67.
George Hurst died in 1986.
[7] Lawrence Greenwald died of natural causes in 1986.
In 1987, the Hurst operations were sold by Sunbeam and became part of
the Mr. Gasket Company. In 2007, B&M Racing and Performance
Products bought the Hurst brand.
[8]
Today
A subsidiary, established in 2008, called Hurst Performance Vehicles,
is responsible for creating new renditions of Hurst vehicles that
include the Hurst Challenger, Hurst Viper, and the Hurst Camaro.
[9]
See also
Very high quality!
