Aussie Icons: The Holden Sandman | Drive Flashback
‘If this van’s a’rockin’, don’t bother knockin”. So went the vaguely crude aphorism back in the days when panel vans were not just a vehicle for lugging boxes.
Story by Peter McKay originally published in The Age on 6 February, 1999
As part of the range of the last traditional-sized Holdens, the Sandman was the dream of every teenager with a passion for all that was fast and macho and the curse of every father with a daughter over 16.
Released in October 1977, the range consisted of the sedan, utility and commercial versions, but it was the van that achieved Australian infamy.
Armed with murals painted on the panels and mum’s old curtains hanging in the back, nearly 155,000 models were sold and no car park at Dromana or Phillip Island was ever the same again.
The much heralded “Radial Tuned Suspension” (which got a solid workout on both the roads and drive-ins across the nation) set a benchmark in Australian motoring comfort and marked the beginning of the suspension war.
Both Chrysler and Ford released their own successful versions soon after.
However, the suspension of the rough-riding Volkswagen Beetle, consisting of two slinkies glued to the axles, failed to compete with the new standards.
The Sandman remained in production until 1980 when, with Ian Chappell finally hanging up the bat, Ronald Reagan becoming US President, and questions being asked of exactly who did shoot JR, Australian minds drifted away from recreation and hardened towards the more hectic, monetary pursuits of the new decade.
So, what happened next?
By the time the Holden Commodore replaced the Kingswood as General Motors’ flagship, the age of the panel van as, ahem, recreational vehicle was declining.
Sure, the brightly-coloured and often meticulously mural-ed Sandmans lived on for a few more years, but as the free-lovin’ and free-wheelin’ 1970s gave way to the excesses of the ’80s, their numbers dwindled.
Today, their scarcity has seen values rise. A quick scan of a popular Australian online sales website reveals a small number on the market, ranging in price from $45,000 for a well-worn, well-used example to a gob-smacking $150,000 for a pristine, well-maintained and meticulously restored manual V8.
Holden played with a modernised Sandman concept, based on the Commodore, in 2000 but while the velour interior trim, and mattresses in the back alongside mood lighting were reminiscent of another time, Holden’s concept remained exactly that. Shame, really.
What do you think? Have you ever owned a Holden Sandman? Do you own one now? Let us know about your experiences with the Australia’s favourite panel van in the comments below.
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