My Faithful HQ Panel Van

[barbadosGreen]

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone.
You're right, the paintwork is in unbelievably good condition.
I was very lucky that the previous owner was a paint and decorator, as well as a classic car collector himself. He knew that value of protecting paintwork, and although the van was his daily drive for 27 years it was always garaged or under a carport when not in use.

You mention the Overlander chassis - is that the original 4wd conversion done by a fella in Tasmania (Launceston?), or just a 2wd wheels/tyres/clearance mod?

You've really got me thinking about whether to respray or not. I like the Idea of "survivor van", considering that 95 % of the paintwork is intact. Maybe rust repair and a good touch-up spray is the way to go.

Goodness knows, there's plenty of more deserving areas I could work on (eg weather strip replacement (they literally crumble between you fingers) as well as body mount and suspension rubbers, not to mention doing up the gearbox and clutch

Whatever transpires the colour won't be changing - I love it too,(that's why I bought that colour !!)

Oh, and I'm already bidding on those ebay seats...

Mmm.... got some more thinking to do...

Cheers

Bruce

[wbute]

If its as good as it looks paintwise, just fix the rust I reckon for sure!

Overlanders were done by Arther Haywood in Tassie. They are the standard chassis modified to fit a dana front and rear axle. They used a transfer case attached to a turbo 400 transmision.

I am amazed at where you took your van all those years ago, and just goes to show how addicted to 4wd cars we have become, when a 2wd would mostly do the same job!

[Robbo]

Welcome Bruce, that is an amazing story, and wonderful the fact you were able to be reunited with it once again. All the best to you in bringing it up to standard again. "Holden commercial vehicles" and how versatile they are, backed up by documented and photographic evidence. That say's it all really.

[playwme]

You mention the Overlander chassis - is that the original 4wd conversion done by a fella in Tasmania (Launceston?), or just a 2wd wheels/tyres/clearance mod?


Cheers

Bruce

Either/or. Obviously a full Arthur Hayward style conversion may be costly but a clearance mod and a diff with electric locker and some chunky tyres would probably do the job. I'm assuming that 36 years on you may not be as willing to do some of those things you had to in order to get out of muddy rutted areas so a few helpful mods may make it easier. Electric winches front and rear may be a saving grace as well. Even put in a V8/auto conversion onto the other chassis and take an offroad camper trailer with you. Then when the trips done drop the body back onto the original chassis with the 173/3 on the tree and you've got the original van back.

That would really make people oh and ah if for every photo you had in the album from the 70's, you had another in similar location from now.

[HK1837]

GQ Patrol chassis would be the go nowadays. That way it is still a Q. One might call it a GHQ. 80 series cruiser chassis would be even easier as no need for a transfer case lever.

[GNW1974]

My van isn't a Sandman, just a stock standard Sept 74 HQ van, and I've joined your forum to gather more info about the particular model.

Shortened version of my story is:

Van purchased new in 1974.
Traded in on another vehicle in 1984
Set out to track the van down in Nov 2010.
Found it in Dec 2010.
Now own it again after 28 years.

You can find the whole story at:

http://majesticvanners.forumotion.co...self-here#9324
http://majesticvanners.forumotion.co...l-hq-panel-van
http://majesticvanners.forumotion.co...l-hq-panel-van
http://majesticvanners.forumotion.co...ormation#13307

I plan to restore the van (as much as possible) to its original showroom condition, even to the extent of replacing the 202 engine that is in it currently, with a 173 which is how I purchased it.

What is proving difficult is obtaining an original pair of bucket seats for the van - I've seen a couple of one-piece backs (tombstone) which were in the early HQs, but I read somewhere that looming changes to ADRs forced GMH to offer adjustable headrests later on in the HQ production.
These adjustable headrest versions with the painted plywood backs are the ones I'm after.
It doesn't matter what condition the upholstery is in - I've already got a local guy lined up re-upholster them.

Cheers

Bruce

Great story Bruce, what was the final part of the story, the site won't let me on and I don't want to register just to read it as I have no need to be a user of the site going forward

regards Graham

[barbadosGreen]

Graham,

You've read most of the story to date, the Barbados Green Beauty is carefully tucked up in a car cover under the carport until the next half of the story - the Restoration - begins.

A few milestones have to be reached and decisions made before the last half of the story can proceed, viz:

1. Complete the patio that I promised my wife before the van came on the scene.
2. Extend/Enclose the carport to give more layout space, especially when the body comes off the chassis.
3. Decide whether to go for a full bare metal respray, or just a rub-down and respray specific areas with a final cut and polish. (see other posts on this thread
4. Decide how "deep" to go in returning it to its "showroom" condition, as this could mean removal of the replacement 202 engine (installed by the previous owner after the original 173 gave up after approx 300,000km) and re-installation of a 173 motor, which was how I purchased it.
etc.
etc..

One significant goal that has been reached was the securing of the original registration plates. The originals (LYJ 334) were surrendered by the previous owner when he replaced them with a personalized set. The original rego number then "lapsed" in the Vicroads system for 28 years until I came along and requested that they be reactivated (For no less that $295 !!) They are perfect replicas of the original black and white plates.

So that's where I'm up to so, Graham, why not register with the MV forum and you can follow the projects... I registered with mySandman for similar reasons and there's no cost.

Cheers

Bruce

[ambientgoat]

What a fantastic thread.
To see so much of its life as an offroad vechile then a tradies van and still look so fantastic. That really is a credit to you and the second owner.

Personally I would vote to keep the original paint, I think it tells more of a story that way.

[barbadosGreen]

I won those Penrith seats on Ebay last night - cost me $365 in the end.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....#ht_500wt_1156

Thanks for the tip.

Cheers

Bruce

[Rico]

What a story Bruce! Thats some great history there! Good luck with the ressurection! Barbados green is one of my favorite Holden colours also! Look forward to watching it progress.