George Hurst was a hot rodder at heart, but he was also a visionary, an innovator, a brilliant promoter, and he was particularly skilled at building alliances. Hurst developed and marketed a high-performance line of shifters that led the industry and became the cornerstone of the company. After forming an alliance with Anco Industries, Hurst marketed and sold more than 100 speed parts that included shifters, heads, wheels, and many other parts. Eventually, the Hurst catalog became the source for high-performance parts in the 1960s and 1970s.

 

Jack “Doc” Watson joined Hurst and became a pivotal figure within the company, which led to many performance projects with Pontiac. Over the years, Hurst also partnered with Oldsmobile to build special 442s known as the "Hurst" Olds, with AMC to build the wickedly effective SC Rambler, and with Chrysler to create a number of Super Stock cars as well as the 300H. He also helped build one of the most memorable exhibition cars in drag-racing history, the Hemi Under Glass.

 

No other company or individual had as big of an impact on so many aspects of the automotive industry as George Hurst. His performance parts were some of the best ever, the competition cars won many races, and the muscle cars that bear his name were some of the best of the era. Scores of interviews, in-depth research, and exceptional insight from veteran magazine editor Richard Truesdell and co-author Mark Fletcher have created a great book. In this softcover edition, Hurst Equipped: Revised and Updated Edition captures the complete story from the production cars and race cars to the performance parts.

 

 

 

- Chapter 1: Humble Beginnings: Birth of a Performance Empire

- Chapter 2: Turmoil and Triumph: Hurst’s Growing Pains 1959–1963

- Chapter 3: Shifting into High Gear: Hurst and Campbell Establish an Icon

- Chapter 4: In the Heat of Battle: Hurst Competition Cars

- Chapter 5: AMC Gets Serious: American Motors and Hurst Join Forces 

- Chapter 6: A Legend is Born: Hurst Teams with Oldsmobile

- Chapter 7: Mopars with a Twist of Hurst: A Match Made in Performance Heaven

- Chapter 8: The Hurst Marketing Machine: Making History

- Chapter 9: Hurst Performance Company: Missed Shifts and Rebirth

- Chapter 10: Inside the Doors of HQ: Business Changes

- Chapter 11: Changing Hands and Changing Times: An Era of Transitions for Hurst