Photo courtesy Hurst/Olds Club of America.
Undoubtedly lots of guys with the surname Watson get tagged with the nickname “Doc,” but in the case of Jack “Doc” Watson, it was earned. Both inside and outside General Motors, the engineer and businessman made many contributions to the betterment of the high-performance automobile. Doc, a resident of White Lake, Michigan, passed away August 2 at the age of 75.
According to George Mattar’s profile in the November 2004 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines, Doc started out working with legendary Corvette engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov and developing “Super Duty” groups for each GM division – including dropping large-displacement engines in the Y-body senior compacts for evaluation purposes, and arranging for Pontiac to obtain use of Hurst floor shifters as factory equipment.
Doc’s Hurst connection would bring him into that company, where he would eventually rise to become president of Hurst Performance Research, based in Madison Heights, Michigan.
During his time at Hurst, Doc brainstormed the “Hurst Hairy Oldsmobile” in 1966. Named in a nod to Billy Murray’s bouncy ditty of 1905, the Hairy Olds was a four-wheel drive exhibition piece using dual 425-cu.in. V-8s and transaxles from the new Toronado in the body shell of an Olds 4-4-2. The result was a crazy smoke show that was wildly popular on the exhibition circuit.
More famously, Doc learned that his boss, George Hurst, had transplanted a massive 455-cu.in. V-8 into a new 1968 4-4-2, creating a combination not available from Oldsmobile due to a corporate edict prohibiting engines in excess of 400 cubic inches in the A-body cars. Inspired, Doc had special paint, a Hurst shifter, engine mods, and walnut interior trim added to create the prototype Hurst/Olds. The Hurst/Olds was an immediate success, selling 515 in 1968 and nearly double that the following year. The Hurst/Olds would remain as long as the rear-drive Cutlass, with Doc building four in the last year of the G-body, 1988.
As of 2004, Doc was working to develop a military vehicle at his Michigan company. More recently, Doc was known for his philanthropy and community involvement in Flint and Detroit. He helped start both the Woodward Dream Cruise and Flint’s popular Back to the Bricks cruise. He is also credited with inspiring Flint’s series of downtown statues honoring automotive pioneers.
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