My HX Sandman P/Van

[Absinth]

I picked this up a couple of years ago in pretty much rust free condition, as with a lot of Sandman panelvans she was robbed of her original engine, gearbox, GTS dash, GTS rims and GTS steering wheel. When I got it someone had fitted a 253 VB Commodore engine and T/bar auto along with a HZ Kingswood dash and Premier steering wheel, it has Mad Max style mag wheels on it and a SL/E Statesman grill.

Curiously only the GTS fascia and gauges were taken out, the rest of the dash is original along with the console, door trims, carpet and seats.

Unfortunately I have been unable to store it under cover until recently as I had a HX Monaro in the only available covered area so the van has suffered a bit from a nearby tree and being parked in the yard. One section of the gutter has rusted along with the bottom of the rear quarters, beaver panel and bottom of both doors. All repairable but I could have done without the extra panel work.

The previous owner in his wisdom decided to block off the rear side windows and silicone'd sheet metal over them, thinking this wasn't enough he proceeded to pop rivet around the edges and wasn't at all stingy with them. I have been searching for a set of replacement windowless side panels so if anyone knows of some available please let me know. I have most of the other needed parts except for the side panels and a few of the smaller parts.

Under cover at last.



After sitting for over two years I hooked up the battery and with a bit of pedal pumping the engine fired up, ran a bit rough for a few minutes and then settled into a smooth quiet idle.



Tailgates are rust free still, just a bit appearing at the bottom of the beaver panel.




Original black hood lining and spare console at the bottom right. Check out all those pop rivets in the side panel...



A reasonably original interior, except for gauges and steering wheel.



I've already restored a GTS dash for it but have a couple more I will restore also.



Some bits I have collected for the van, the steering wheel centre is around somewhere.



Most amazing is all the rubber door and tailgate seals are original as can be seen by the wire running through the lower tailgate seal, this wire also form the clip that fastens it to the tailgate unlike those poxy plastic push in button type things on the repro rubbers.

[Absinth]

A full restoration is planned and back to almost original, unless I can find a correct serial numbered 253 I will be installing a 308 instead. It is plated L32 M20 so won't be totally original with a L31 and M21.

Still collecting the small bits and need a set of windowless side panels.

[hj308]

Do you mind sharing how or what you had to do to restore the fasica back to silver, I have read comments I think on this site where it is claimed that all HJ's Sandmans came out with silver fascia's but reading on another site this week one guy claimed to own to original HJ Sandmans and stated both had black fascias so I am a little confused, were they both an option?? Out of curiosity as I am undecided on this issue myself will you be painting it in 2pak or acrylic?

[adam perth]

Do you mind sharing how or what you had to do to restore the fasica back to silver, I have read comments I think on this site where it is claimed that all HJ's Sandmans came out with silver fascia's but reading on another site this week one guy claimed to own to original HJ Sandmans and stated both had black fascias so I am a little confused, were they both an option?? Out of curiosity as I am undecided on this issue myself will you be painting it in 2pak or acrylic?

Its not really clear.
i have researched this topic a little bit, so far i have come up with:

it appears early HJ's had silver fascia standard.
mid - later HJ's had black fascia standard with silver option

[Absinth]

The early HJ parts catalogue list two GTS fascia's. manual and console shift.... column shift... both are silver. The later HJ parts catalogue lists black, woodgrain and silver GTS fascia's but the silver one is listed as Monaro only..... no mention of Sandman whatsoever.

The HX parts catalogue lists the silver GTS dash as Sandman and Monaro only.

When the change occured and if it did actually occur is unknown.

To restore my fascia the first thing I did was take it down to the paint shop and had the silver matched in acrylic lacquer. I plastic welded the cracks and repaired the radio cut out using an undamaged kingswood fascia. Masked it up and re-painted it silver.

I am going to do another one shortly and will post a how to with pics when I do. It's not that easy and you need a good plastic welder... I paid $600 for my welder but I have seen similar on Ebay for around $200... don't know how good they are though.

If you are just going to restore the one fascia you might be better off sending it to Dash Revival, Dash Original or The Dashboard Doctor. I know Patrick at Dash Revival charges around $300 to repair and re-paint them depending on where and how much they are damaged.

[hj308]

Okay thanks for that , the dash in your photo looks great - well done. In regards to paint I should have explained myself better. When you repaint the van will you be going 2 pak?? Most people seem to go with 2pak better off the gun finish, harder finish etc. My neighbour is old school and is currently restoring 2 genuine Gtr XU1 Toranas, the 1st one which was fully stripped he has painted himself in acrylic and it looks great. The panel beater that came to look at my van says 2 pak is better especially with reds which tend to fade and you need to keep the wax up to them. Personally I think that is one of the joys of having a much loved car in the cleaning and polishing to keep it looking great. My panel beater also claims that 2 paks are now better in regards to being able to do small touch up jobs and not having to do the whole panel again if you get a spot of rust etc. I have noticed with some 2 pak jobs and I am talking new cars of that orange peel look. Is 2 pak the way to go??

[Absinth]

The two dashes in the pic are unrestored, my restored one is wrapped up and put away.

I haven't quite made up my mind on the paint but will probably go with 2 pak. I have always re-painted cars with acrylic lacquer previously but today's acrylics just aren't what they used to be.

While I've never actually painted a car in 2 pak I have built and painted a kitchen and several items of furniture in 2 pak so am quite confident I can do a good job on the van. Todays 2 paks are far better than they were years ago and can be easily wet sanded and buffed once dry to get rid of any orange peel if you do get it.

As with any re-paint.... preparation is the key to success, the more time you spend on preparation the better the finish will be.



I have also played around with Auto Air water based automotive paint which I find excellent to use but you can't buy it in vehicle manufacturer colours...... it is excellent for custom paint jobs and airbrushing though. Below is a hard hat I played around with using Auto Air paint.

I need a bit more practice on my freehand airbrushing skills though...:errf:

[mandarinhx]

It is plated L32 M20 so won't be totally original with a L31 and M21.

I wouldn't worry about that ... its an improvement anyway ... the most important thing is to get her on the road to enjoy.

[Absinth]

I wouldn't worry about that ... its an improvement anyway ... the most important thing is to get her on the road to enjoy.

I really want to get into it but I have the small problem of limited space and dirt floor.... I have the slightly larger dilemma of whether to just build a shed and get stuck into the Sandman against renovating the house.

The renovating the house argument is well ahead at the moment...:cry:

[hj308]

Did I read somewhere before where you stated you were a builder by trade? I'd imagine half a dozen weekends and you could have both jobs finished Its a tough call but I am sure to keep the peace the house reno's come first then you can work uninterupted on the van. I am in similar situation , van sitting outside and about to put plans in for a new shed then can attack the van resto, but to be realistic I think it will be about 3-4 months before I get to turn a spanner on the HJ, good things come to those who wait.