History Of The Hurst Wheel

The Hurst logo in the center cap was always gold and black, regardless of cap style. The gold tended to fade over time, leading some collectors to incorrectly believe the gold section of the "H" was originally green.

This is the infamous "Guillotine" impact test that dropped a 2,000-lb weight on the wheel from 24 inches. It distorted the rim and bent the spoke with some cracking visible. The other four spokes and the riveted areas were undamaged.

The Rotating Fatigue Test spun a wheel at a load of 2,036 lb-ft, which was the Pontiac OEM standard for wheel testing. The 14x6-inch Hurst wheel ran at 260 rpms for 2.5 hours, the equivalent of 39,000 revolutions with "no obvious visual failure."

It's not known how many of the painted wheels were sold beginning in 1967, however, they are extremely rare today. This wheel painted in red shows the contrast created between the color and the chrome center cap and fully polished beauty ring. Hurst had hoped it would generate sales with customizers.

The Hurst wheel wasn't cheap. At a time when chrome reverse Rockets sold for $17.45 each, Cragars for $32.50 a pop, and Torq-Thrusts came complete with caps and lug nuts for $46.25, Hurst wheels sold complete for $69.50. Large speed shops like Honest Charley's and Big Ed's did discount the wheels in their catalogs, but poor sales due to the high price lead to the wheel's demise in 1969.

Hurst had a flair for promotion, and that included how he shipped his wheels. Initially, these drums, which measured 16.75 inches high and 31 inches in diameter, held two wheels. Later on, the drum was replaced by an octagonal shaped cardboard box that contained one wheel. Towards the end in 1969, a plain rectangular box was used, and sealed with tape adorned with the Hurst logo.

She was Miss Golden Shifter, the incomparable Linda Vaughn. Linda posed with Hurst shifters, cars, T-shirts, and yes, wheels.