1975 Holden HJ Sandman Ute Project

Why five? "Because I've got five kids - one for each!", he told us. Now that's a Dad we'd all like to have! Paul is partway through achieving that goal, with three Sandman utes currently in his possession, all of which were sourced through Seven82 Motors. While most Sandman fans go for the panel vans, Paul's a fan of the utes, as he used to own one, specifically an Absinth Yellow HJ with a 253 V8, 4 speed manual and black trim. Paul currently uses one of his three Sandmans, a 308 V8-powered HJ, as his daily driver. A second is a 'work in progress' and the third, the show-quality Absinth Yellow HJ that's the subject of this feature, is being pampered by Paul's wife, Tracee. Paul told us Tracee loves the Sandman so much, she may not give it up. Looks like you've got a fight on your hands, kids!

Paul first contacted SEVEN82MOTORS back in early 2010 with a very specific request for a Sandman ute in Absinth Yellow with black trim, powered by a 253 V8 and 4-speed manual. Over the course of acquiring and restoring this Sandman for Paul & Tracee, Ben Atkinson from SEVEN82MOTORS struck up a good friendship with the pair, so when the request came to find Sandman 2 and 3 of the planned five, Ben was happy to oblige. Paul's initial request was so specific, though, that Ben knew he had the task ahead of him. Sandman registry sources point to only around 80 vehicles in this spec still in existence. Of course, few if any of these would be on the market, so the search commenced. After about six weeks of searching, a genuine Sandman that looked like it matched Paul's requirements was located in Dubbo. Paul gave Ben the green light to get it, so after a 24-hour round trip, the Sandman was back at SEVEN82MOTORS's Nerang workshop. The trip also yielded an HX GTS Monaro (which featured on the cover of September 2010's JUST CARS) and a very rare McLeod Ford 'Horn Car'.

A check of the VIN tag confirmed the ute carried the correct 'XX7' indicator of a genuine, Brisbane-built Sandman, but what Ben brought back from Dubbo certainly didn't look like the real deal! The Sandman had suffered the fate of many similar cars, insomuch as its eye-searing, 70s-era original paint had been oversprayed with a more subtle shade. However, traces of the original Absinth Yellow were visible under the floor carpeting and around the windscreen frame, confirming this car was the exact article that Paul wanted. Paul and Tracee came to SEVEN82MOTORS to view the ute, and out of that meeting, a plan to treat this particular Sandman to a thorough, bare-metal restoration was put in place. That meant Ben, along with Richie Bruce from Mr Restoration (SEVEN82MOTORS's companion business), had a fair bit of work to do! Overall, the Sandman looked complete, but shabby. A 253 V8 was provided, but not in the car, and the interior was a mismatch of different trim pieces. Non-genuine velour inserts and the like meant that most of the upholstery had to go, with very little of the ute's interior trim reused for the restoration.

Seven82 started by totally stripping and sandblasting the body. This revealed that the shell wasn't too bad. There were indicators of past damage and repairs (thankfully done in steel, not just packed with bog), but pinholes of rust and the usual minor damage was evident. Compared to some he's seen in the past, Ben said the Sandman certainly wasn't in terrible condition. The fact it was from inland NSW meant it hadn't suffered the rust damage found in some 'coastal' cars, either. From there, the body was sent to Mr Restoration, where all the rust-affected areas were cut out, replacement panels fabricated and put in place, and the body checked for straightness. The Sandman had suffered a few minor hits in the past, but Richie and the guys at Mr Restoration were able to repair the damage. As is the case with most utes, a lot of time was taken up in the tray area. Heaps of little dents and knocks meant a LOT of time was spent in the tray area putting that damage right. With that work done, the body was then prepped for its covering of Absinth Yellow paint. The end-result was stunning, as you'd expect.

From there, the bright yellow body was sent back to SEVEN82MOTORS for reassembly. While the restoration was originally planned to be faithful to factory spec, Paul consulted with Ben to make a few concessions to reliability and improved performance. Paul rebuilt the 253 V8 himself, before delivering it to SEVEN82MOTORS for painting, finishing and installation. Paul had wanted a 4 barrel carburettor and aftermarket ignition fitted to make the Sandman more driveable. This was easily doable, but Ben had the clever idea of cutting the bottom out of the factory air cleaner and combining that with an aftermarket carby base to keep a factory look to the engine. Spraying the new inlet parts orange added to the effect. Similarly, fitting the MSD ignition was a simple task, but hiding the unit within the dash console was Ben's idea, further adding to the factory appearance. As a gift to Paul, Ben actually did the air cleaner conversion and supplied the relevant decals for free. From initial purchase - on April Fools Day! - to completion, the project took about eight months, which Ben said is about average for a restoration of this magnitude. After speaking to Paul, his satisfaction with the job done by SEVEN82MOTORS and Mr Restoration was more than apparent.

Since completion, Paul's car has been used sparingly, and as mentioned, has been jealously guarded by Tracee. With two Sandmans to go to make up the Sharp family quintet, it looks like Ben Atkinson and the crew at SEVEN82MOTORS can expect some more work in the future!