Jay Leno's Garage

Found: The Hurst-Built Oldsmobile 'Fournado' That Vanished for 50 Years (2025x42)

Fecha de emisión: Oct 06, 2025

Jay Leno is finally getting behind the wheel of a car he read about decades ago—the one-of-one 1968 Oldsmobile 442 with a front-wheel-drive secret! Automotive appraiser Donald Osborne tracked down this incredibly rare vehicle, and Jay is joined by the car's current owner, Fred Frederick (aka "Four-Four-Two Fred"). The Secret: The car appears to be a stock 1968 442, but Hurst Performance took the car and converted it to front-wheel drive in a rapid 45-day process back in 1967. They achieved this by taking the entire drivetrain and front-end torsion bar suspension from an Oldsmobile Toronado ("Fournado" is the nickname for this creation) and transplanting it into the mid-sized 442 body shell. Why the Conversion? Circumventing GM's Rules: The conversion allowed Hurst to install the massive 455 cubic inch engine into the intermediate-sized body, bypassing General Motors' rule limiting that body to 400 cubic inches. Testing a New Concept: It was an exercise to prove that a high-perfor