the one guy that added more fun to hot rodding than probably any other, (with only an 8th grade formal education)
The Hurst Armed Forces Club!
the GTO races,
the Hairy Olds,
the shifters!
The Jaws of Life!
The Hurst Hemi Under Glass 'Cuda,
the Hurst SC/Rambler,
the Hurst Baja Boot,
the Gasser Passer
the Hurst Shawnee Scout
the Hurst Jeepster,
the Shifty Doc Watson traveling performance clinic,
and Hurst Super Stock AMXs, Darts, Barracudas,
the Hurst Olds,
and Hurst Airheart brakes - who compares to all this?
There is a wikipedia entry for Hurst Performance... it's not very good
George Hurst worked with more car companies than maybe anyone I know of. Jeep, Pontiac, Dodge, Oldsmobile, International Harvester, and AMC.
For a good look through some cool stuff that the Hurst performance company made: https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cool-hurst-stuff-coming-to-auction-from.html
Born in New York City in 1927, died in 1986, Redlands California, in his garage. Suicide by carbon monoxide.
George's mom, Antoinette, was a naturalized citizen from Kutai Hora Czechoslovakia
His dad was a WW1 Army vet who worked for the National Biscuit Co in New York City
And his paternal great grandfather William Jackson Hurst was born in Ireland, 1818, and came to the USA before the Civil War, and enlisted in the 198th Infantry in Aug 1864, and mustered out a year later in May of 65. Lived in Pennsylvania
And there you have the most thorough info on his life before going into car parts business that the rest of the world is already familiar with. How about that... WW2 air craft carrier duty. I've never heard that before (thanks Steve!) Correction, I forgot, I had posted that he was an Navy Aircraft Machinist https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-frantic-fish.html
After the Navy, 1943-1954, he resettled in eastern Pennsylvania in 1954 and became very active in the local drag racing scene.
His marriage didn't work out and no one even mentions the name of his wife. It was Lila, and they divorced in 1984
When he made Almquist's acquaintance, Hurst and Campbell were working out of a garage outside Philadelphia in Abington, with engine mounts as their lead product, when two problems occurred. First, a California firm began producing copies of their engine mounts. Next, Hurst became separated from his wife.
In the mid-fifties, he and his friend Bill Campbell started a garage in Abington, Pennsylvania, where they built aftermarket engine mounts for performance cars. Although Hurst’s formal mechanical training was limited, he had an intuitive knack for automotive engineering and, more importantly, was a natural showman with a flair for clever promotions.
Hurst Performance was originally named Hurst-Campbell. The company was established in 1958 as an auto repair shop when George Hurst and Bill Campbell were both young men. An older man named Lawrence Greenwald (who is credited, among other things, as 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 Campbell and decided to finance them in a venture to manufacture large aftermarket bumpers for VW buses, which were becoming increasingly popular.
When Volkswagen began manufacturing its own large bumpers for the buses, Hurst-Campbell branched out into the piston-driven gearshift business.
After some early setbacks, Hurst and Campbell formed a partnership with Jonas Anchel and Ed Almquist, founders of the speed shop Anco Industries. Together, they developed and launched several new products, including a revised engine mount design called Adjusta-Torque and a floor-mounted shift linkage for three-speed manual transmissions.
An agreement between Almquist and Hurst, in which the two decided to focus on aftermarket retailing and component development, respectively, endured for the rest of Hurst's life.
At that point, a new employee of the equally new Hurst Performance Inc., Jack "Doc" Watson, described by Almquist as then a gofer, made a personal connection that would set the company's role in history. Through his mother, Watson made a contact with Pontiac, which ended up selecting a four-speed version of the Hurst shifter as standard equipment for its 1961 Catalina powered by the 421-cu.in. Super Duty engine.
Since Almquist and Anchel were neither willing nor able to put up the substantial amount of capital needed to market the new linkage, Hurst and Campbell obtained a $20,000 loan and established their own company, Hurst-Campbell, Inc., in Warminster, Pennsylvania. It opened for business in 1959.
The hot-rodding and drag racing scene was booming in the late fifties and early sixties and Hurst-Campbell found a ready market for their shifters and shift linkages. Whatever Hurst’s mechanical abilities, his greatest talent was concocting stunts and gimmicks to market Hurst-Campbell products. Hurst sponsored drag racers; offered new cars as prizes for race winners who used Hurst products; and hired a buxom beauty queen named Linda Vaughn as “Miss Hurst Golden Shifter,” paying her to attend racing events in her gold bikini, suggestively caressing giant replicas of Hurst’s signature product. Some of Hurst’s promotional stunts were undeniably effective.
By the mid-sixties, Hurst-Campbell revenues were more than $20 million a year and Hurst shifters had become almost de rigueur among serious enthusiasts.
He was the co-founder of the Hurst Performance Product Co. and was associated with high-performance vehicles and automotive advances, particularly in the area of car transmissions. His Hurst Shifter, a floor-mounted gear shift for performance cars, made him a wealthy man.
Are you fucking kidding me? Do you have an idea how effing rare it is that anyone gives a shit about employees, much less hires anyone with any disability? Damn, this is incredible info, and I've never heard about it either. This seriously sheds light on why Linda has said so many good things about George. She never mentioned this though. Wow... sending a guy work, at his home, so he can keep a job? That's incredible!
The company has since been sold several times, said Chuck Lamerel of American Bristol Co., seller of the jaws of life. The jaws of life tool was originally developed by Hurst in the 1960s to rescue drivers in crashes at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and then adopted by rescue agencies throughout the country, Lamerel said.
George Hurst wrote a self help book that was published in 1984, "The Perfect You", there are maybe 5 copies for sale online, all for 75 to 125
In March 1984 Popular Mechanics did a paragraph about the transmission George was working out problems with... the problem was that the damn thing wouldn't work yet. Doubtless, it was about a whisker off from being the next must have for racers, like, a Lenco. Keep in mind, the Hurst Lightning Rod shifters... Hurst knew transmissions!
Tragic as his rise and fall are, as far from normal as either gets, he's getting hero status from me for the Jaws of Life invention. That's fair. No less should anyone expect, no more should anyone ask
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-05-19-me-5971-story.html
https://ateupwithmotor.com/model-histories/hurst-olds-history/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurst_Performance
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/george-hurst
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/hurst-performance-shifters-marketing/
https://ateupwithmotor.com/model-histories/hurst-olds-history/
https://bangshift.com/general-news/gearhead-guys-you-should-know/
As far as I know, you don't need anybody's permission to create a new Wikipedia entry, so why don't you do one on Hurst? You seem to know a lot about him--at least enough to start a basic entry. It doesn't have to be a book, some Wikipedia pages are no more than a paragraph. Then others who know even more about Hurst can add to it. What are you waiting for? Since I have contributed to Wiki, I at least know that the basic principle is that you can't write anything that you can't support with a citation (newspaper or reputable magazine article, book, publication of any sort from an official organization such as Nascar, etc.)
ReplyDeleteWhy don't I? Because I just spent two hours making this post right here, and I don't see why I should take more time to move this over to their site. As long as a good job is done somewhere online, I'm pretty sure a Google search will bring up my article, that's how I get most of my traffic
DeleteTurns out there actually is a Wikipedia entry on Hurst Performance.
ReplyDeletelook under the photo of the Hairy Olds
DeleteNice summary of George Hurst's life, Jesse! I didn't know any of this about him.
ReplyDeleteI didn't either, it blew my mind.
DeleteI was doing the family tree of my cousins I grew up with, as their dad's family hasn't ever done one... and way back in the 1670s they had a Hurst. Well, when I see a famous name, I immediately stop everything and see if I can dig into the family tree of the famous person, and see if they are related.
So, since I knew nothing about George Hurst, I went digging. I never knew he was married, where he was from, I had forgot that I'd posted he was an aircraft machinist, but didn't realize or know he was in the Navy, in WW2, and was injured pretty bad by a bomber landing on his aircraft carrier.
Plus, I didn't know about him hiring handicapped people, or that he wrote this book, or that he suicided.
I'm stunned.
Frankly, I think the hot rod community owes him a bit of respect, etc, as does anyone that has benefited from the Jaws of Life.
I think the New York Times should have done an obit, and that Hemmings, and Hot Rod magazine should have done better articles in memoriam about him.
He earned it
So, I do what I can, and I'm glad you've found it worthy of approval.
That means I'm doing this right, and I'm pretty pleased to find that I am capable of doing an admirable job of journalism, and respect.
I knew him in the late 80's and had a couple copies of his book, which I read and liked. He gave his books away one Christmas!
ReplyDeleteWow, you were fortunate to know him! Do you have any stories to share about him?
Deletethat must have been the Christmas of 84 or 85
DeleteGreetings. Thank you for all of your research. I can add to and make a couple corrections to your article. My dad was George's partner, Bill Campbell. I'm glad to share his story.
ReplyDeletewell, thank you! I did what I could, by looking around online, and I'd appreciate to know more, so what I have here and share with others will be correct, will be respectful, and show my admiration for an incredible guy, and incredible business.
DeleteIf you'd like my email address, it's jbohjkl@yahoo.com, or you can keep responding here. Which ever you prefer
Thank you for letting me share. My dad, Bill Campbell, was a very black-and-white guy. He operated in facts. He easily listed, without emotional attachment, the assets and liabilities of working with George for 13 years. He appreciated George’s strengths and was frustrated by the challenges. My parents were married for 67 years. Dad insisted on integrity in all matters.
ReplyDeleteI did not know some of the background information you presented on George. Thank you. I did know he had a sister, Delores, who lived in New Jersey. At one point George presented her with a GTO and a fur coat. This appeared quite generous and was certainly part of the “Showman” George that was such an asset to the company. However, my dad thought that a married women with kids who was struggling with finances would have been better off with a practical 4-door car and help to pay some bills!
Almquist stated that George opened a garage in Glenside. It was in Abington, which I’m sure Almquist knew and had a slip of memory. Yes, George started by swapping engines and making motor mounts. The first guy who worked with him was Jim Rahm, who is now 90 years old and sharp of memory.
Regarding his personal life, George was married five times. I don’t know the name of his first wife. The second was Virginia, then Laura, then Hildegard, then Lila. I remember Laura and Hildegard. He had a daughter by Laura. When he and Laura divorced, she got the Abington house with the shop, which was the impetus to move to a rented building in Glenside.
Absolutely George was intuitive, inventive, had a creative mind always looking for ideas, and was a natural showman. My dad called him a “P.T.Barnum.” That showmanship played a major role in the company’s success.
My dad, a mechanical engineer, started working for George in 1956 part-time designing dies for engine conversion parts to earn a bit of extra money. Dad’s original goal of earning a bit more money really didn’t work out because George wasn’t making enough to pay anyone… But dad enjoyed the challenge. After two years, their insurance agent talked them into incorporating in May of 1958. Yes, Greenwald, Anchel and Almquist were all key players along the way.
ReplyDeleteIn 1961 George offered $1,000 to the guy who could design a better 4-speed in-line shifter than they were using in Detroit. Bob Kenny came up with the idea, and eventually George gave him the $1,000. Today Bob is also 90 years old and very sharp.
Regarding the handicapped employees. When the Hurst-Campbell building was built in Warminster, Pennsylvania in 1965 they contracted with the Pennsylvania Association for the Blind and had one worker in the lunchroom who was visually impaired. I can’t speak to the story of sending work home to someone, dad never mentioned that. But he did say that George made a huge deal out of hiring handicapped workers, and it was all of one person. (My dad had a real soft spot for disabled people and in the 1970s worked installing systems on vehicles so people with a disability could drive their own vehicle.)
Yes, Linda says wonderful things about George and everyone else! Dad said the amazing thing about Linda is that once she meets you, she remembers your name! He marveled at her ability to do that. And she can talk car… she has been a real asset to the industry.
A long time worker at Hurst once told me that George would sketch out the next idea he wanted to build, and my dad would figure out how to do it. While George was promoting, dad kept the entire operation running smoothly. Hurst-Campbell would have never succeeded as it did without the strengths of both men.
ReplyDeleteAnd I must end with this. The original idea for the Jaws was not George’s and had nothing to do with the race car industry. Dad read an article in the Philadelphia Bulletin about a dump truck driver who was caught in his cab in an accident at a train crossing, and bled to death five minutes before they got him extricated. Dad thought, “This guy isn’t going home to his wife and kids.” That got him thinking, and he came up with the initial idea for a cutting tool that could not produce sparks. When he shared the idea with George over a hamburger, George added in the spreading tool. George insisted on the tool running off a power steering pump. Dad said it had to run off a separate generator. There was some development to the tool over the next ten years, but it never really got off the ground successfully until after dad left Hurst (at George’s invitation) in 1969 and George put the Jaws into high gear, powering them yes, by a generator.
George may take all the credit for the Jaws, but our family is so proud to know that it was our dad’s initial concept. Dad was the quiet engineer who kept production running at home.
I just found, in reading my dad's dictation, that I have a correction. He stated that when they were in the Glenside Hurst plant the company hired a man who was dumb - could not speak. And yes, they hired one other person who was handicapped, though he didn't specify what type of handicap. Dad stated that he believes the vocational placement agency probably came to Hurst-Campbell and asked if they would employ this man rather than George going to them.
ReplyDeletethank you Tomi! I think it's very important for the added information to the public interest, to put the whole story out. Do you want to rearrange what you wrote to have it more like a history article? Or do you want it to stand as is, no edit? I think it might be better in a seperate post, maybe a post about your dad, or, a post about your dad, then a post with these notes, bridging the gap in public info from your dad's singular story, without Hurst, to put these notes in a post that shows the collaboration, as Hurst's post will remain, with everything you've written in the comments, exactly as is.
DeleteI just wanted you to know, it would be cool to do a post on your dad, but, I am certain I can't do a thing without all the info from you, and certainly, can't do an article that you'd respect, it's better if you write it and add a couple photos.
I imagine it might be the only article about your dad, unless Hot Rod, or Car Craft, did one. Baskerville and the other staff at those magazines were really great guys, they might have written one, I sure am not familiar with their complete articles.
Think it over, let me know if, and or, how, you might want to. No reason you should, or shouldn't... no one will probably notice the article on my blog.... It's no Hot Rod Magazine, or Rodders Journal