Believe it or not, this is an HX Holden Sandman panelvan!
“It’s a childhood dream!” chuckles owner Ty of the Sandman project he bought four years ago. “I had one when I was 18 or 19 and I’ve always wanted another one. I’m a big fan of the green ones so when this came up for sale, I grabbed it!”
When delivered as a just-about complete (but unregistered) vehicle to Pro Street Restorations in NSW’s Hunter Valley, there were obvious bubbles in the usual HQ-WB Holden rust areas. A closer inspection by Pro Street’s Greg ‘Beach’ Ball revealed more rust and behind-the-scenes problems. The decision was made to largely disassemble the Sandman, spot-weld by spot-weld, to reveal all the problems before the car was media-stripped to bare steel by Imperial Blasting.
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The complete restoration will be achieved using a mixture of original, second-hand, hand-fabricated, NOS (new old stock) and reproduction panels including a Rare Spares front plenum panel and the company’s recently launched reproduction van/ute rear quarter-panels. Mechanically, the car will retain its original, but completely refreshed factory V8 driveline.
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“I already realise that with all the panel work and all the little details we need to get it spot-on original, it’s going to be close to a hundred grand, and might be worth $70K when it’s finished,” says Ty with another laugh. “I already have a few cars so I understand the effort and costs involved.
“But things like this – I’m not doing it for resale; I’m doing it because I want to.”
It’s intended that the restored V8 Sandman will be cruising the NSW coast looking for beach babes by summer 2019.