poor old Sandman van

[Absinth]

This is a genuine Sandman van that was turned into a fairly nice show van called Blue Image. A lot of money, time and effort was obviously put in to building this van.......





SO.... what happens to these glorious money pits from back in the 70's and 80's.


See what was on Ebay not that long ago.....




Poor old girl

[Robbo]

That is so sad. I have wondered what happened to those van's from that time,there were so many of them. The money that was pumped into those vehicle's was incredible.The engine's..interior's..mural's, which were fantstic, and the chrome...unbelievable. Have they all suffered the same fate as this one?

[agr071]

Unfortunatly, as Absinth said, the van popularity left and then came the utes. So it would have been a cheaper way to get one.
I think that's why the vans are worth more now as they survived the cut.

[Gas On]

I understand current owners `resurrecting them' and renewing interiors etc as fabrics and materials deteriorate & dull unless cleaned and maintained on a regular basis.

Mechanical upgrades & modifications due to wear & tear is obviously going to happen too.

Those magnificent body mods are commonly restored to original, as fibrelass was often used... the uv dulls, cracks, splits etc...

The only way these old @#$& trucks could have survived is if they were sheltered in a cocoon.

I have big respect for anyone out there whom has invested / collected one of these vehicles. The time and money spent maintaining one is enormous!

It would be great to hear from you!

[Rico]

Pity I couldnt see the pics, it is great however to see these old road warriors being restored. I remember growin up seeing stuff like HT HQ, Ford XY XA, and Valiant's CM etc all done up in their finery, not always Drifters or Sandmans but just normal vans that had been specced up....great to see those days coming round again.

[Robbo]

I would love to see some of the van's out and about again.

[hxbunny]

I couldn't see the pics either, there are a few here that have before or do own old show vans

[sanman]

I can't see the pics!

I am sure some of those vans are still hidden in garages around the place. A friend of mine once bought an ex show car, circa 1987. I remember I was so envious at the time. It was a Jade Green HQ wagon with a 307?, mural on the dash, bonnet scoop, braided hoses etc etc. It was in Street machine Magazine prior to him buying it. Anyway, it got left in his carport one day in the very early 90's, tarps put on it and it has not moved since. But one day he will return it to its former glory.

Wish I could say the same thing about my old Contessa Gold HX Sandman...that I owned twice.

Cheers Geoff

[playwme]

You cant see the pics cause the thread is a year and a half old and the links are obviously no longer valid.