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The HZ Sandman finally came with a V8 as standard and the inclusion of Radial Tuned Suspension (RTS). Once again the HZ Sandman remained as a commercial based vehicle therefore no Kingswood Sandman vehicles were built in either ute or panelvan. Once again 2 seating capacity should be the first thing one looks for and then continue from there.

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• Bucket seats - Seat capacity of “2” on the ADR Plate.

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• Console Floorshift.

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• Front Door Armrest.

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• V8 High Compression 253.

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• Manual transmission - 4 speed floorshift.

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• Bucket Seats.

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• GTS Steering Wheel 5mm (3mm thick spokes after Jan 78 ) with GM Lion insert.

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• GTS Instruments Cluster Assembly.

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• GTS Rally Wheels (N66) - to be replaced by (N67) Cast alloy early 1979.

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• GTS Colour Coded Door Mirrors.

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• Quartz Halogen Headlights.

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• Footwell Lights.

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• Trim codes of 11C, 18V, 23C, 23V, 33C, 45V, 60V, 63C, 63V, 67V or 77C.

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• Sandman Decals Set

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The HZ plates are very similar to the HX, but we will breakdown the numbers to help identify a genuine Sandman.

Firstly here is an example of a HZ Body ID plate, at first glance this plate looks like any other commercial based panel van but with one notable point. We know this is a Commercial vehicle because of the M on the Model line.  If you look at the third line which is the Trim code, you will notice the trim code is 63V.  Therefore we want to investigate the other plates further, because a Sandman is generally a commercial vehicle with some Kingswood or SS options.

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BODY IDENTIFICATION PLATE BREAKDOWN

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The Body Identification Plate has five significant lines relevant to the Holden Sandman which we will explain from the above plate as an example line by line.

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Model

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• HZ - is the series of the vehicle.

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• 8W - signifies Holden Australia.

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• M - defines this as a commercial vehicle or N for Kingswood. If it was a Kingswood it is definitely not a Sandman in the HZ range.

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• 70 - is the Body style in this case a panel van or 80 for ute.

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Body No

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• This is the unique number of the body assigned from the body assembly plant.

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Trim

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• 1886 - Is the paint combination code and varies on the exterior paint.

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• 63V - Indicates the trim code.

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Paint

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• 30524 - See the paint colour chart for a detailed reference. (coming soon).

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Last Line

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• Eng - Engine type

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• L31 - V8 308

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• L32 - V8 253

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• Trans - Transmission type

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• ​​M20 - 4 speed wide ratio (V8 253)

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• M21 - 4 speed close ratio (V8 308 only)

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• M40 - Trimatic (not V8 308)

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• M41 - TH400 (V8 308 only)

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COMPLIANCE PLATE BREAKDOWN

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The Compliance Plate (ADR Plate) has four sections and two important descriptors relevant to the Holden Sandman.

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GVW

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• Gross Vehicle Weight - This is significant in determining a genuine Sandman and for the HZ will be below​

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Seat Cap

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• To even be in contention as a possible genuine Sandman it must have 2 seat capacity - not 3. We have come across one plate that had a 2 stamped over a 3 but the Body ID Plate was marked with XX7 so doubt was removed.  This plate was known as the Monday shift Sandman and is obviously a mistake and a rare one at that! If you are looking for a genuine Sandman and see 3 on the seat capacity it is a good idea to just walk away.

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Date

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• Indicates the build completion date, very simple.

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Chassis Number

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• These numbers will identify that the body matches the chassis number. The chassis number is located on the top of the front chassis rail next to the steering box if the chassis has a 'P' preceding the numbers. This would be a Police stamp to indicate the chassis has been damaged, stolen or mismatched at some stage. Each State in Australia has a different method in police stamping so check with your local authorities.

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VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (VIN)

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The VIN is the unique identification number for the car and is recorded Nationally as the Identification of the car. There is nothing on this plate that will identify it as a genuine Sandman or not, however the details are here on how to decode the letters and numbers.

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Example 8M70RHL402936Z

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• 8 - GM Holden Australia

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• M - Commercial vehicle or N for Kingswood

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• 70 - Panelvan (80 for Ute)

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• R - Engine Type​​

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• T - 5.0 lt (V8 308)

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• R - 4.2 lt (V8 253)

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• G - Model Year

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• D - 1974

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• E - 1975

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• ​F - 1976

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• G - 1977

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• H - 1978

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• J - 1979

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• L3 - Assembly Pla

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• H1-H4 - Acacia Ridge (Brisbane)

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• H5-H9 - Pagewood (Sydney)

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• J1-J9 - Dandenong (Melbourne)

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• L1-L5 - Elizabeth (Adelaide)

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• 65514 - PSN which is the unique serial number.

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• Z - Series Code

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• Q - HQ

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• J - HJ

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• X - HX

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• Z - H