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Second-Chance Olds

Noah Knudsen’s ’72 Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds Replica

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  • 1972 Oldsmobile Hurst Driver Rear Side View
  • 1972 Oldsmobile Hurst Passenger Front Side View

    Noah thanks his brother Josh and his friends Chris Hofschulte, Mark Bedney, Bill Arnold, and Matt Morrissey. Without them, he might still be driving a Cordoba.

    1972 Oldsmobile Hurst Passenger Front Side View
    Noah thanks his brother Josh and his friends Chris Hofschulte, Mark Bedney, Bill Arnold, a
  • 1972 Oldsmobile Hurst Passenger Front Interior View

    The original interior now hosts a set of Hurst/Olds seats and an original Hurst dual-gate shifter mounted to a Turbo 400 with a TCI 10-inch, 4,200-stall converter. For safety, Noah welded in a 12-point mild-steel Morrison ’cage.

    1972 Oldsmobile Hurst Passenger Front Interior View
    The original interior now hosts a set of Hurst/Olds seats and an original Hurst dual-gate
  • 1972 Oldsmobile Hurst Engine Bay View

    The original 455ci Olds block was punched 0.030-over by Performance Concepts in Spring Lake Park, Minnesota, to get to the 461ci number. The block features a nodular crank, Eagle H-beam rods, and a set of 10.4:1 Wiseco pistons with custom valve reliefs for the large 2.12/1.62 valves. Heads are a now-rare set of ported aluminum Battens that flow 340/250 cfm at 0.700-inch lift with Crane Pro Series 1.6:1 roller rockers. Bumpstick chores are handled by a Comp cam with 281/286 degrees of duration at 0.050 and 0.640/0.640-inch lift. Topping off the motor is a 925-cfm Barry Grant Gold Claw. And blowing it all out is a Torque Tech 3-inch exhaust with a Dr. Gas X-pipe and Flowmaster mufflers. CC

    1972 Oldsmobile Hurst Engine Bay View
    The original 455ci Olds block was punched 0.030-over by Performance Concepts in Spring L
  • 1972 Oldsmobile Hurst Underbody View

    Out back, the 12-bolt rearend is strengthened with Moser axles, a T/A girdle, Strange C-clip eliminators, and 4.11 Richmond gears that easily turn the ET Streets. To feed the fire, the stock tank has been sumped and the MagnaFlow 275 pump pushes 92-octane to run a best of 11.21 at 120 mph!

    1972 Oldsmobile Hurst Underbody View
    Out back, the 12-bolt rearend is strengthened with Moser axles, a T/A girdle, Strange C-cl
  • 1972 Oldsmobile Hurst Passenger Front Side View

If there’s one thing every junior gearhead has in common, it’s a vision of what the ultimate street machine would look like, the way it would sound, and the wheels it would have. They also share an insatiable craving for raw horsepower. Noah Knudsen of Frontenac, Minnesota, was no different, and at 16, swapped the keys to his ’79 Cordoba straight across for what is now a jaw- dropping ’72 Hurst/Olds replica. You may think the trade was a no-brainer, but for a high school kid on a budget, it was hard to let go of a perfectly good running car for one that looked more like it was on its last legs. However, seven years in the making as funds allowed, the results speak for themselves. Seems to us like it was the right choice.

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