Is a Sandman still a Samdman?????

[Blocker]

I'll keep this short, N.S.W R.T.A use the chassis number only to id a car, if the chassis matches the id tags on the car and tags id a sandman then its a sandman

What if I put a WB body on a HZ chassis and added the matching plates to the body?

[ozbox]

[Vombil]

I think there are a few members on here who would rather run the gauntlet with respect to tag removal... payoff is that they are able to sleep at night. Keep in mind that once you've lost your tags you just have a v8 van with a really expensive paint job and some GTS gear

A body shell is a part, like a dash pad or whatever. I think if its disclosed to the purchaser or authority etc then there 'shouldn't' be a problem. like most times we determine value - willing buyer willing seller both acting prudently knowledgeably and without compulsion.

[HK1837]

Me too!

However I am simply amazed at the level of openness on this forum about people talking about re-shelling their vehicle.

When doing research into this very topic, I visited some ford forums looking for key words like "Removing tags" and "re-shell". They say things like "Do you think I will get in trouble if I remove my tags to paint my engine bay?" and "OMG! I did not realise it was that illegal to remove my tags. What should I do?".
On this forum its all about "swapping tags and chassis" or "What shell should I use?"
Any one considering buying a Sandman and using this site to research them would be put completely off the prospect due to the high number of fake "Original" sandmans being hobbled together. Ultimately devaluing all the Genuine Sandman's out there.

This concludes me to think that either, some people simply just don't give a shit about the law or they have a learning disability.

I think the reson you see it more with HQ-WB is that the vehicle's identity is on the chassis which is seperate to the body, and hence easily unbolted an replaced eg after a crash, or people have always seen the bodies as a spare part (which I have done, we used to replace rusty tonner cabs in the 80's when WB's were still sold new, you could buy a cab off a 2 year old crashed WB for $250). Fords, like HK-HG and Toranas etc are a bit different.

[Bobcat]

A friend had a hj ute with wb chassis put on it after an accident. The rta in nsw made him put the pollution gear on it because they classed it as a wb not a hj. This i why i belive a sandmans id is its chassis and matching id tags

[wbute]

You could never even truly know if a "genuine" sandman still had its from the factory body shell. If it was T boned as it left the dealers it would have been repaired under insurance and if it needed a new shell or chassis it would have been replaced. It would have still retained its original numbers and plates. Now 30 plus years later and the current owner believes its a un-touched survivor. All hypothetical of course, but totally possible.
They are NOT works of art. They are simple old Holdens that any Joe Blow could modify in their back yard, and that IS what happens to them.

[HK1837]

You could never even truly know if a "genuine" sandman still had its from the factory body shell. If it was T boned as it left the dealers it would have been repaired under insurance and if it needed a new shell or chassis it would have been replaced. It would have still retained its original numbers and plates. Now 30 plus years later and the current owner believes its a un-touched survivor. All hypothetical of course, but totally possible.
They are NOT works of art. They are simple old Holdens that any Joe Blow could modify in their back yard, and that IS what happens to them.

True in some cases. Often you see them also with spare part body shells, and only the BODY tag. Paint code is PRIME.
Same thing happened when cars were relatively new with blown engines, especially early XU-1's. If dealer had to fix a busted rod, they'd order a block and piston kit, and the original engine number was put onto the new block. From what I can tell Nasco actually did this, and the busted block had to go back to the zone office to be destroyed. So there are also some matching number XU-1's out there that have a little secret that is unknown to the owner. Who really cares though?

[wbute]

True in some cases. Often you see them also with spare part body shells, and only the BODY tag. Paint code is PRIME.
Same thing happened when cars were relatively new with blown engines, especially early XU-1's. If dealer had to fix a busted rod, they'd order a block and piston kit, and the original engine number was put onto the new block. From what I can tell Nasco actually did this, and the busted block had to go back to the zone office to be destroyed. So there are also some matching number XU-1's out there that have a little secret that is unknown to the owner. Who really cares though?

Yeah, who cares exactly. Numbers are boring.