Well they would have been market testers I suppose and perhaps that's why the stripes and stuff changed as well. Maybe to more suit the youth market so make it bigger bolder and more in ya face!!

I've got copies of all the Sandman brochures and also have press pics of the q's in a car yard. The marketing material certainly got a lot more flashy so probably when they realized they were on to something they picked it up and ran with it. Prior to that the van was always a commercial vehicle and was marketed as one.

Lots of the old panelvan brochures I have are definatelly targeted at youth only the commercial one so it was a huge mission to turn a plumbers van into something cool I suppose.

I'm too young to know but maybe someone here can tell me that maybe there was just a social trend around vans emerging so Holden capitalized and bang here is the Hq sandman?

Far out look out these are selling well and the kids love em, quick badge up the last of those belmonts with the last of that monaro gear, put stripes on em sell em as sandmans and we will get the hj started and really push this sandman craze.

Far out somany old blokes who ask me bout my hq didn't even know they existed but they know a lot about old holdens.

I'll bet my black arse there aren't Many, they weren't meant to be they were just a way to test a market clear out old stock and hence we have a beautiful, rare, highly sort after and classic piece of Australian motoring history a fair dinkum icon.

I've researched my heart out on these cars and even the books and magazines to this day don't have any figures on them or what price they were sold for.
I know how much mine sold for and it's well over what a v8 Belmont sold for so that's another piece if the puzzle.

The figures aren't there cause Holden didn't bother counting till the hj cause the HQ was a trial

--- Updated ---

It's all only the opinion of someone who wasn't even born yet though.

I meant to say the brochures were not targeted at youth market previouslly only a commercial one but can't edit post with iPhone sorry