Remember though, "Sandman" was all about looks, not sound. It was a visual package only, never a performance package like option XU2 was on LH-LX Torana. The V8 engine was not part of the package, it was just an option box you ticked the same way you ticked "Sandman" ie XX7 HQ-mid HJ or XU3 late HJ-HZ (only exception is HQ V8 models where 253 was standard, but again the Sandman package had nothing to do with this, 253 was just the standard engine on a 0270, 0280 or 0480). It wasn't until HZ that the act of optioning XU3 governed the engine availability when V8 became standard when XU3 was specified. The only thing performance wise you might attribute to a Sandman is when XX7 became available late in 1975. This gave you passenger tyres and hence possibly a handling benefit over the normal Sandman or commercial vehicle.
Bookmarks