HQ Curiosity

[Dago]

It would seem that finding this site has been the most significant thing thats happened to me in the past few years (laughs, just ask my girlfriend) It's got my brain working overtime and I've come up with a question that has haunted me for years. I found, through a conversation quite a few years ago, a HQ Sandman ute locked away in a ratty old timber shed. The guy was keen to sell it and for what it was supposed to be, it was a good price.
The ute was a 1974 HQ. Painted in Barbados green from memory. Had a 253 and was auto. It had the correct dash, Steering wheel, GTS gaurds, GTS rims with short tail centre caps and the correct stripes, with the Sandman decal behind the door, but the thing that got me was that it was a factory (so I'm told) column auto.
The guy claimed it was ordered as column shift from the factory and as they weren't standard, it was very rare. The ute was very immaculate, but the guy was always busy when I called and asked if I could come back to check the ID tags.
I ended up moving away for a few years and from what I can see the shed is gone now and have no recollection of the guys name to find it.
Adding to this, some of the boys told me, while discussing it, that it was a bashed up paddock ute, Belmont and that it was restored very well but was originally a stock standard 202 ute. So could it have been possible that this actually was a Sandman, restored very well that I let slip through my fingers?
On another note, there was a Sandman van floating about town that was genuine. The guy knew what it was, but used it as a work hack. It was rough around the edges, White with the remnants of 2 Sandman stickers behind the doors. I think it was HJ or HX. He said initially he was going to do it up, but lost interest and reckoned it was past it now so he'd drive it till it died. My mate works for this guy, So my next mission is to find the Van and see if it's on the market. I blame this site for my renewed addiction haha Cheers.

[mauser]

To be a possible Sandman in a Belmont or Kingswood '74 HQ Ute it at least needs the seating cap at 2 and a floor shift with console mounts on the floor. So unless it was modified from the floor to the colume I would think it was a replica.

Byron could tell you some more tell-tale signs to look for.



Mauser

[HK1837]

As above if it was a factory column shift it wasn't a Sandman. HQ stripes and decals were dealer fitted so it was easy for a dealer to whack them onto a Belmont or Kingswood, stripes could be ordered or just used off a car that the buyer didn't want them (which I would have done if i'd bought one new). If a customer wanted a column shift that bad a dealer could have very easily ordered a V8 auto bench seat Belmont ute with U17 instruments, rally wheels, sports steering wheel etc and simply put on Sandman stripes. The Sandman things you couldn't order factory fitted were:

Fluted guards;
Paint blackouts;
140MPH/225km/h speedo;
Deletion of side and rocker mouldings on Kingswood.