Nice HQ Sandman - Car Sales 15 March 2018 - Monterey Green White Stripes

[wbute]

You just can’t go with seat of the pants estimates as not all had the stripes fitted.
There is absolutely no doubt that Holden would never have continued with the Sandman unless they sold a significant number of HQ’s over the ten month run. Ten months is a long time in car production.

[Innuendo]

You just can’t go with seat of the pants estimates as not all had the stripes fitted.
There is absolutely no doubt that Holden would never have continued with the Sandman unless they sold a significant number of HQ’s over the ten month run. Ten months is a long time in car production.

Yeah well I can and did! I knew of multiple HQ SS's and XU-1's around town in the 70's and 80's (even owned one of each) and only ever knew of 1 HQ Sandman Van in the same area and I was heavily into Vans. Seriously we knew of every Van around including the dry cleaners, bakers and the NRMA Vans etc. So while I can speculate I, like you and everybody else can't put a exact number on it. If it was thousands (in my opinion) they would be more around all those years and more about today.

You are right Holden wouldn't have gone on with them without decent sales figures. But you don't know those number either!
It wasn't like a whole new model with tooling etc. Just throw GTS parts onto a Belmont or Kingswood Ute (and chuck a sticker kit in the glovebox).

[Valencia]

Im with you Inners yes im only speculating to but don't you think they would have sold a bucket loads of HQ 6cyl tradie vans and utes in the early seventies so if the HQ Sandmans vans and utes didnt sell well GMH would not have cared move on to another model and try something different which they did the HJ
Like Inners said its only a Belmont with some goodies


I have lived in Perth all my life its not that big a place back in the seventies even smaller i remember the van scene quite well we used to cruise the city streets,the beach fronts, city carparks and it would be rare to see a HQ Sandman van and when you own a van we got to know other vanners hardly ever saw Quee sandy
I to think the number would not exceed 1000 units my 2 cents

[maxsandman]

I was 14 when they were being built and as many of you know, My Dads best mate was Fleet Manager for Suttons Motors at Chullora so I got a lot of brochures and manuals and all sorts of promo stuff from him when he dropped in for a beer on the way home from work.
I was absolutely infatuated with panel vans and so I took a lot of interest in this new fangled "Sandman" that was released. My dad had a company HQ ute and I was hell bent on getting him to swap it for a Sandman van but he wasn't going to be seen in one of those fancy things. He did however take me over to Suttons a lot and during my many visits I was usually around the Sandman vans.
I remember on one occasion there would have been 10 - 12 on the front line, all different colours and all Sandmans. They sold like hotcakes and each time I went there, a new batch took their place..... So where I'm going with this is that at that one dealership over about twelve months I must have seen 50 - 60 different HQ Sandman vans. Suttons was a big dealer and probably sold more than average, but there would have been many other dealers that sold as many throughout the country.

I am the same but different!

I was 14 when the HQ Sandman came out, and "car mad", my old man had a XW and a XY falcon, both were V8s, his mates drove XU1s, SLR5000, heaps of Holden utes and a heap of GT Falcons and hardtops, that used to drop round all the time just to name a few. I was around cars all the time. Growing up in Tamworth NSW, I never saw a HQ or HJ ute or van with the "Judge" stripes, until way later, maybe early 80s. During the time I started driving, the striped vans, HX - HZ and to lesser extent utes, were everywhere, like in their dozens at the drive-in or hanging out in the main street after work.

When I bought my first van in 81, the car yards were full of HX-Z vans with stripes, and when one was sold & seen cruising the next day there would be another van out front of the same car yard (up on stands) or in the showroom. These mostly seemed out of my price range, from memory 7 or 8 grand for average ones up to 9 and a half for really clean ones or decked out. I really wanted one, but they disappeared off the lot before I could get a loan each time. Then at a small yard I spotted a really clean Atlantis blue HZ van that I had drooled every time I had seen driving past for a year or so. It had twin headlights, GTS dash and a 308 4speed and black trim and interior. It had about 60k's on the speedo and was only 6 grand, but it was a plain panelvan (no stripes). So I grabbed it, thinking I had given up on buying a Sandman. It wasn't for a year or 2, that one day I went and asked the Holden spare parts guys why it had XU3 stamped on the tag? It wasn't a Torana!, I said.

Anyway, around here, there were hundreds of HX or HZ sandmans for 1 HQ or HJ. Maybe all the marketing in the big city yards got the early ones sold before the country folk heard of them.

End of bed time story

cheers
Max

[Big Rob]

With respect, Tamworth wasn't beachside Sydney where I grew up. Tamworth had one Holden dealer and Sydney had dozens so you can understand why I saw a lot more than you would have.
Tamworth, also being rural and inland would have been a lot more ute oriented than van. A lot of my mates from inland towns shunned panel vans and especially Sandmans because of the "Surfie" image they portrayed, whereas a ute (without Sandman stripes) would carry a lot of cool points.

I am the same but different!

I was 14 when the HQ Sandman came out, and "car mad", my old man had a XW and a XY falcon, both were V8s, his mates drove XU1s, SLR5000, heaps of Holden utes and a heap of GT Falcons and hardtops, that used to drop round all the time just to name a few. I was around cars all the time. Growing up in Tamworth NSW, I never saw a HQ or HJ ute or van with the "Judge" stripes, until way later, maybe early 80s. During the time I started driving, the striped vans, HX - HZ and to lesser extent utes, were everywhere, like in their dozens at the drive-in or hanging out in the main street after work.

When I bought my first van in 81, the car yards were full of HX-Z vans with stripes, and when one was sold & seen cruising the next day there would be another van out front of the same car yard (up on stands) or in the showroom. These mostly seemed out of my price range, from memory 7 or 8 grand for average ones up to 9 and a half for really clean ones or decked out. I really wanted one, but they disappeared off the lot before I could get a loan each time. Then at a small yard I spotted a really clean Atlantis blue HZ van that I had drooled every time I had seen driving past for a year or so. It had twin headlights, GTS dash and a 308 4speed and black trim and interior. It had about 60k's on the speedo and was only 6 grand, but it was a plain panelvan (no stripes). So I grabbed it, thinking I had given up on buying a Sandman. It wasn't for a year or 2, that one day I went and asked the Holden spare parts guys why it had XU3 stamped on the tag? It wasn't a Torana!, I said.

Anyway, around here, there were hundreds of HX or HZ sandmans for 1 HQ or HJ. Maybe all the marketing in the big city yards got the early ones sold before the country folk heard of them.

End of bed time story

cheers
Max

[Innuendo]

I'm not trying to ram anything down peoples throats and nor do I care the exact number built. It's just my opinion based on my life, my observations and printed history. Only commented because the question was raised for opinions. Quite happy to hear whatever anyone else has to put forward.

If you were or are into Vanning you will know of "Custom Vans & Trucks" magazine. I have every edition and started reading them from very early release and then purchased the earlier editions via back order. Anyway the point is if you have read it/them, so many of the Vans featured will tell you they started with a HJ/X/Z Sandman and built whatever it was turned into in CV&T. This magazine ran for over a decade at the height of Vanning. Super rare to read of a HQ Sandman at all. Either in factory form, in use, on show, spotto, readers rigs or featured Van. The same is the opposite for HJ/X/Z nearly every edition you'll find some mention. Must dig out my "Van Action" magazines and see if they ever seen any HQ Sandman action!

[HJ_Blue_Van]

I agree 100 is a ridiculous made up myth. But I still think the number was in the hundreds, not thousands.

While the Vanning scene was hot, it hit a different demographic than the 4 door family sport sedan. It was also only a 10 month run.
Adding the the confusion is the fact the decals were supplied in the glovebox for dealers to fit (or not).
Of course it's all speculation or an educated guess (nobody knows for sure). It makes me think of other limited runs like the XU-1 and their build numbers.....

Hey fellas only new here, don't want to step on anybody's toes but we need a "like" button.

Like your comment mate.

[wbute]

I know of two that were local and both in country towns of less than 800. One of which was Kandos that had a Holden dealer. That HQ Sandman was a sparkies van.
As mentioned above, by maxsandman, lots of people would have bought HQ, HJ and HZ Sandmans secondhand and never even known what they were. The same goes for Joe Blow looking at them in car yards and car shows. Without detailed knowledge of tags, owners delivery papers etc, you have no way of knowing even today. Plus no one would have cared what they started out as in the 70’s.
No one knows but it’s obvious if they only sold a handful they would have discontinued them. Plus the stripes clearly were not a big selling point as only one series(HX) actually had them fitted standard. The rest were all optional either through DL7 or just leaving them in the glovebox.
Memories and recollections are unreliable and also influenced by what you were actually interested in at the time. With no actual numbers from Holden no one knows.

[Innuendo]

Hey fellas only new here, don't want to step on anybody's toes but we need a "like" button.

Like your comment mate.

Thank mate, appreciate the comment.

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[hainzy]

I am the same but different!
I was around cars all the time. Growing up in Tamworth NSW, I never saw a HQ or HJ ute or van with the "Judge" stripes, until way later, maybe early 80s.
cheers
Max

Heya maxsanadman do you remember seeing my van around back in the day? I bought it from Tamworth and apparently it spent its entire life there. Windowless Caribbean Turquoise M21 308. Apparently owned by a local boozer who everyone knew.

Would love to know more about it... Cheers mate.