My HZ Sandman Panelvan Replica

[83 WB_Ute]

I guess I should probably start an actual tread for the old girl...

Here's the story so far....

Its a HZ Kingswood Panelvan with factory 253, 4spd and 3.36:1 diff. Original paint - Persian Sand Mk II - and Tan interior.. Was factory buckets and console..

Its fairly stripped, but its workable, and a very good base for a first van for a 19yr old!

I'm going to build a HZ Sandman replica in Persian Sand (the van is almost a Sandman, if it was a base model - not a Kingswood - it would be one for sure..), but I'm undecided if I'll keep the factory Tan (67V) trim or go Slate Black (18V)..

Nice straight and rust free quarters, and its windowless!!!!





The cowels are MINT! Same as the roof, roof gutters, upper & lower tailgates, and the firewall... Haven't seen the floorpans yet, thats the first job, clean the old girl out....



The roof is spotless, not a dint to be seen...



This is the worst rust in the whole car:



Its got an archway in the back, and has a stack of other parts in the back aswell... All that it set me back was $100 and a bullbar (that I got given for nothing..)

[83 WB_Ute]

I've had another quick look at the van, and realised that the rear window has curtains too! I dunno if I'm gonna keep them, but if I do, I'll put new ones in, cause they look really bad at the moment haha



I also found a little more rust in the floorpans - after I filled up a 30-40L bin with leaves, dirt and sticks :/ - but its not as bad as I thought it was gonna be. and its 100 times better than my parts ute floor! haha

Its fixable, and shouldn't be too hard to fix either, now that I can weld! haha

Only bit in the P/S:



The D/S is a tad worse, but its not too bad..





I also found the metal brackets that hold the firewall lace/rubber on (painted ones..) and I cleaned polished and waxed them just to get an idea of what the colour was like originally... and my jaw hit the ground when I seen the colour when it was clean! haha
I had a bit of trouble getting the metallic part of the paint, but its there...





You can see the metallic/glittery bits around the glare in this picture...



I really like the colour, up to GMH (of the 70's..) for running the colour!

[83 WB_Ute]

Last weekend I got her out and started to clean her up inside and out.. I had a sift through the parts in the back and sorted what was good and what was going to the tip...

I removed about 20-30 litres of half decomposed, plant life from the cowel/plenum and to my surprise, there was not a spec of rust underneath it!

I then turned my attention to the paint, I got the good old car wash and a sponge out, washed the old girl down and then polished and waxed one windowless section by hand.. The results were pretty good!



The paint is pretty decent underneath with a good clean and polish..But it will still be getting a respray.



Nice and straight, there is two dints the size of peas in one whole side of the car....

In the below pic you can see the metallic in the paint pretty well.. It only took about 15 photo's to finally pick it up! haha



Also found the boxes in the back of the van made out of gal and just covered in carpet.. hahah They actually had pretty good storage! and in one compartment they had a great big earth cable bolted to the floor, so they possibly had another battery in there..
Note: the epic late 80's/early 90's speakers..



While cleaning I found this sticker from a BnS ball in Moree 1990... I have been informed from the owner before me that the van went to the BnS ball and was pulled off the road a year later and just left to sit, so its been sitting since 1991... and it has been a country car its whole life..



Also good news! I have found the original owner of the van!!! :D They also happened to own my parts car for the ute too.. But I've been trying to get in contact with them regarding info on the car on what happened to it to require the chassis be replaced etc.
So fingers crossed they have the original chassis and engine sitting on their farm somewhere If not, I'd be happy just knowing a little about the vans history

I spent $150 on stuff the stunt the growth of rust.. The plan is to wire wheel/strip any peice of rust that can be seen, rust convert, then give it a coat of paint.. and for areas I can't see, they'll be getting a fair bit of fish oil..
By no means is it a fix, but its a preventative measure to limit the growth of the rust until I can remove it completely..

Once again, stay tuned for progress

[Robbo]

Seems to be pretty good van. All the best with your restoration.

[83 WB_Ute]

Seems to be pretty good van. All the best with your restoration.

Cheers man

[83 WB_Ute]

I forgot to add... The van itself was a straight swap for parts, and the $100 was for a pair of MINT spotless, rust free doors (including door trims and all internal stuff..) So the doors made the deal even sweeter!

[Alien DNA]

Must admit, thats a great colour!!

Looking forward to updates

[thatotherguy]

if you are going to paint it STOP polishing it .Great to see another van saved (who cares if its not a sandman) as for trim colour i would go for chamois trim.keep up the good work and keep it as dry as you can even if you have to spend a few hundred on a good car cover

[83 WB_Ute]

Must admit, thats a great colour!!

Looking forward to updates

Cheers mate! Hopefully updates will be consistent, but in reality, it'll be when the funds can allow :(

I had a Persian Sand V8 HZ sedan, top car, actually if you're 19 Matt, I had my Kingswood before you were born!

Hhaha That'd have to make you feel old! haha

if you are going to paint it STOP polishing it .Great to see another van saved (who cares if its not a sandman) as for trim colour i would go for chamois trim.keep up the good work and keep it as dry as you can even if you have to spend a few hundred on a good car cover

It'll be a complete bare metal respray.. Does it matter about polishing it even if I'm going to bare metal with it?

I agree!! I'm just happy to have a decent windowless van The interior is the only part that I am actually undecided on :/ Got some pictures of chamois trim??

Cheers man, and fingers crossed I don't find any more rust, and hopefully I can stop the stuff I have found rusting anymore..

[Dick61]

I had a Persian Sand V8 HZ sedan, top car, actually if you're 19 Matt, I had my Kingswood before you were born!