Possible HJ Sandman

[HK1837]

That'll do it





That'll do it



A hit up the rrs could discount the hinges....a lot of folk put chrome tail light surrounds on vans way back when, because they look better and how long will a 35 year old carpet last..really.



Right where it should be on a HJ




19V = Black trim and, from what I've read, black trim vans had a chamois (off white) hoodlining...so that'll do it.




Yes.

And if it has the "toothed"strip above the tailgate for the the hoodling to mount to, as well as the side strips for same, then I (as a novice) would be prepared to say you have a genuine Sandman....although I stand to be corrected

I'd say 100% yes but not for any of the above reasons. 1950kg GVW and full headlining are really good starts too. Send me a PM with the ID and i'll make sure it all belongs together for you too.

[ozbox]

hj had both short and long hinges in my experience..

[Rookiepilot]

Thanks for all the replys. Makes me feel a bit easier.

A couple more things, does the body number on the compliance plate appear on the body anywhere like the firewall?

And the door light switches. Are these a push in fit like the torana's? I've seen photos of HJ's on this site which appear to be showing the door light switch attached with a screw below the hole.

If I do any good with the owner on Monday, I'II post some photos up for all to see
Steve.

[ozbox]

door light switches are all push in type...
and i wouldnt be trying to figure out if its a sandman on this fact at all..:Chin:
wb statesman is the only one with a switch with screw..

[HK1837]

BODY number on the ID plate doesn't appear anywhere else on a Dandenong van, it is an Elizabeth body number to start with!

[Rookiepilot]

BODY number on the ID plate doesn't appear anywhere else on a Dandenong van, it is an Elizabeth body number to start with!

Now I'm confused.

VIN-8M70TF J520518J. Dosen't J5 indicate Dandenong built, or were the bodies all built at Elizabeth?

[stickthis]

Now I'm confused.

VIN-8M70TF J520518J. Dosen't J5 indicate Dandenong built, or were the bodies all built at Elizabeth?

EDITED. Got it very wrong.

[Rookiepilot]

BODY number on the ID plate doesn't appear anywhere else on a Dandenong van, it is an Elizabeth body number to start with!

So, just to make sure I understand, if a Sandman was built at Acacia Ridge for example, the number on the VIN plate will match the body number on the body plate, but if the body was made at Elizabeth and assembled at Dandenong, the VIN number and body number will be totally different?

[HK1837]

Sort of correct. Acacia Ridge HQ to HZ Sandman use the PSN (part of the VIN) as the BODY number for both ute and van. Dandenong and Pagewood do the same for utilities, and Pagewood also for HQ Sandman vans. However Dandenong assembled HQ to HZ Sandman vans and Pagewood assembled HJ to HZ Sandman vans do not have the BODY number matching the PSN as the BODY plate is affixed in Elizabeth body plant and the VIN affixed at the assembly plant.

Furthermore, Elizabeth assembled vehicles from HQ right through to the last month of HX also do not use the PSN as the BODY number. From 8/77 onwards Elizabeth used the PSN as the BODY number. This is the case for all Elizabeth assembled vehicles. I think the reason they did this was because Elizabeth built many bodies for other plants, and if they used an Elizabeth PSN as the BODY number on the shells going to other plants they'd have huge amounts of holes in their PSN listing (which is how vehicles were recorded) as there would be no Elizabeth produced vehicles against all those holes. By the end of 1977 van production was ceasing at Dandenong (probably to built Commodore) and slowing down heaps at Pagewood to be finalised by 6/78, plus Mosman Park was finished before the end of HQ. Therefore Elizabeth body plant was basically only assembling bodies for it's own vehicle plant so the switch to PSN as BODY number occurred. That is how it appears anyway.

[GTS]

I'd say 100% yes but not for any of the above reasons. 1950kg GVW and full headlining are really good starts too.

Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't it until after Sept 75 that GM derated the GVM? Prior to that the only way to tell if a HJ was a Sandman was, for the most part, by what I quoted.