It’s rare to see an unmodified Sandman; customisation is the vanning way, after all.
The General must have been mortified when the motoring youth of the early 1970s eschewed the beloved Monaro, turning instead to tradie vans, attractive for their favourable insurance premiums, price and practicality. New or second hand, buyers ticked boxes, worked engines and personalised their rides, in some cases beyond all recognition.
At the zenith of the van craze were legendary builds such as Jade, Midnight Express, Vanrat, Alleycat, Mr Damage and The Beast; machines of such lore that they became known by their stage names alone.
Naturally, Holden needed to tap that market, so chief stylist Leo Pruneau raided the parts bin to create an option pack for the HQ van and ute, dubbed ‘Sandman’. The ingredients were simple; more motor, more kit, more colours, better wheels and, in the case of the HQ and HJ Sandman, a stripe kit inspired by the 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge.
With each series update, Holden piled on the standard equipment, culminating in the V8-only HZ Sandman, which included the quad-headlight front, chin spoiler, sports instrument cluster, three-spoke sports steering wheel, N66 14x6in sports steel wheels and colour-coded door mirrors, all shared with the Monaro GTS.
As the ’70s ended, the fad was over, and the Sandman became hard to shift off the showroom floors. Some late examples were fitted with 14-inch Statesman SL/E alloys, while others suffered the indignity of being sold without their trademark side-stripes and Sandman decals introduced with the preceding HX-series, also designed by Leo Pruneau.
It’s likely these stickers attracted South Australian Jason Ackland to the Holden Sandman. As a youngster, he was known for picking through regional wrecking yards and farm sheds as soon as he was able to, fulfilling his penchant for research, trying to understand how these rusty wrecks would have looked when they were new.
He explains, “I’d look for very-low-kilometre original cars that were there for whatever reason, and if I could, I’d peel off any factory stickers and keep them. If that didn’t work, I’d take a photo.”
Well, it’s fair to say that the Sandman is the ultimate sticker special, but his immaculately restored HX Sandman van isn’t his first.
“I have a HZ Sandman ute, and although it’s far from original, I decided I wanted to replace the tyre placard. Mine was optioned with passenger tyres, and nobody was making the placard showing the reduced GVM unique to that Sandman spec.”
It was about 2004 when Jason got three stickers made, selling the other two on eBay.
“They got snapped up, so I started having more stickers made based on those I’d collected over the years.”
Two decades later, Jason and his wife Jess run STICKTHIS Automotive Decals and Stripes one of the leading suppliers of replica stickers for most mainstream Holden variants.
Now with their own in-house production and printing facilities, Jason believes STICKTHIS creates the most accurate screen-printed Sandman decals to the exact specification and manufacturing techniques of the Holden originals.
It’s such stickers that adorn the immaculately restored, Mint Julip HX Holden Sandman that is practically glowing from the pages hereabouts, fulfilling a dream Jason harboured for a long time.
“I’ve always wanted a stock-standard Sandman,” Jason says.
“When this one came up, Jess told me I should buy it, then we should elope.” Jess continues the story, “When the next morning rolled around and he hadn’t bought it, I was surprised,” she says with a cheeky eye roll.
The gravity of the exchange was not lost on Jason. “That’s when I realised Jess was serious; that it was actually happening.” The couple planned on a quick and dirty respray before making their getaway, so upon purchasing the Sandman in 2017, they set about turning the Elizabeth-built, 4.2-litre V8, four-speed manual, air-conditioned and power steer-optioned panel van in to something elope-worthy.
Of course, it never happens that way, and before long, the dented and rusty body was separated from the chassis in their small tin shed, then winched high enough to bung a few 20-litre drums under it.
“I didn’t have a hoist or a rotisserie, so I sat under there with paint stripper and wire discs, and just burnt the bejeezus out of myself for days. I probably should have just had it blasted, but it was like a mirror under there when I finished, then it was Jess’s turn to help out,” he laughs.
“Jason would be on top, and I’d be underneath, and we’d just bang away for hours and hours,” Jess adds, cheekily. Jason clarifies, “About 2500 hours, between ourselves and the paint shop, Riverland Enhanced Vehicles Paint and Panel. I delivered it to them semi-done, then they worked some magic and, I guess, fixed some of my errors.”
Whatever misdeeds Jason committed, the workshop certainly sorted them out, because the load area is as perfect as the outside. For Jason and Jess, there was no hiding a litany of crimes back there, because they wanted the rear to look factory fresh.
“We saved every single spot weld, every single pressing mark,” he says. “And we gave one of the side panels a light cut and polish to find the correct grey. The shade isn’t the issue, it’s the sheen,” he says of Holden’s seldom-seen work-ready hue.
“It really was a dream resto,” Jess admits. “Everyone who worked on it was great.”
The interior, for instance, was relatively straightforward, with new seat trims from Winner Products in Adelaide, fitted by PKC Upholstery & Trimming in Berri, and a new dash pad from Dash Original.
“The grain is slightly coarser than factory. I’d have loved it to be exact. I know it’s not a thing, but when you try to fly this close to perfection, it’s these one percenters that keep you up at night.” Jason says.
The one percenters Jason and Jess didn’t miss are the production line picking marks that dotted the car when new. Jason’s history of clambering through wrecking yards paid off, as did an obsession for collecting build production sheets and, through STICKTHIS, he was able to replicate the original stickers and stamps, applying them accordingly.
Picking marks aren’t meant to last forever; they exist to give production-line workers an easy reference amongst similar-looking parts, then their job is done.
Jason and Jess have correctly replicated every mark on, in and under the Sandman when it was built, including places unseen by human eyes or concours judges, such as on the carburettor, steering column and under the air cleaner.
The pandemic halted the restoration process for two full years, with the still-not-married couple having to focus on their business to survive.
Emerging from the other side, the van started racking up trophies while it was still in pieces, with the painted, rolling body earning ‘Best Unfinished Project’ at the 2018 Australian Van Nationals. Jason and Jess followed it up with four awards at the 2021 Nats in Parkes, but Jason reckons the best award of all was using the trip to fulfill the van’s purpose: Eloping.
The incredible quality and authenticity of the build, along with fastidious care means this Mint Julip masterpiece continues to pick up trophies across the country, trophies that are often bestowed upon the airbrushed, veloured and chrome customs that define the vanning movement.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that Jason isn’t a fan of the customs; he is, and he’s building something along those lines right now. If their restoration is anything to go by, you can be sure their upcoming machine will continue their tradition of taking home the tinware.