Quote Originally Posted by Innuendo View Post
That's fine Byron, everyone can have an opinion.
This doesn't make your opinion the only one that counts though.
Special vehicle package is exactly how I and others see the Sandman Canopy Conversion. Just in a different time and place on the car industry calender.

Your opinion is really no different to those who choose to exclude the modern Monaro from being "real" what ever that means! (not saying you agree with that).

Regards, Smooth
Too true, everyone is (in this country anyway) allowed to have an opinion! You are correct that the way Holden (by design) marketed this canopy calls it a Sandman conversion. However they like many others today appear to be inferring all panel vans are Sandmans - the simple fact of adding a canopy to a ute makes it a panel van, and hence a Sandman. I can see what they are saying, and I get what they are saying. But the original HQ XX7 special vehicle package was actually called 'sports option'. Sandman was always the "sports" variety of the commercial vehicle, which is what the SS or SV6 are today. All HQ-HZ Sandmans are different body-wise to non-Sandmans, and the difference(s) is/were part of the vehicle from the time it was entered into the rolling schedule. Many are ID plated differently. The "Sandman" converted utes were not built differently or special, and you cannot pick them apart from any other ute. So while they may have a tenuous lnk to the Sandman name, they have no other claims to being a Sandman. To me this is no different to a dealer fitting Sandman stuff to a Kingswood and calling it a Sandman - it has stuff on it that came from Holden in a box that says "Sandman" but the vehicle it goes on is not a Sandman.

An HBD accessory though is NOT a special vehicle package, this is beyond doubt or opinion. Special vehicle packages are cars like Sandman, HQ GTS sedan, XU-1 Torana, L34 Torana, A9X Torana, Taxi package, Ambulance package, Vacationer etc. Modern examples are a Thunder ute or 60th anniversary ute or sedan.