The Holden Sandman, a car that represented a generation of Australians and likely one of Holden’s most iconic cars has undergone a number of reincarnations throughout its lifetime. 

While the true Sandman will always remain the 1970’s surf and lifestyle icon for most, the Sandman name has been used on a number of cars throughout the four decades between then and now. 

A combination of the ever increasing costs associated with owning a sports car combined with the increasing liberation and freedom of the youth of Australia led to a boom in the popularity in panel vans before the Sandman was even announced.

 Holden brought out the Sandman, a panel van by nature, with the added performance and luxury initially of the Belmont and eventually the Kingswood. 

Optional extras included the 253ci V8, a mattress, and sunroof while softer suspension and a drop-down split tail gate for ease of access differentiated the Sandman from the regular panel van. Understandably the Sandman was a huge hit among young Males who now had a car that could do everything – you could sleep in it, transport surfboards and ‘woo’ mates and lady friends alike.

The Sandman package consisted of bold graphics plus a host of features designed to appeal to a younger crowd, including the sports instrumentation, sports steering wheel, bucket seats and Rally road wheels sourced from the Monaro. Options included automatic transmission, power steering and air conditioning.

For additional grunt, the Sandman could be ordered with a V8 (in either 4.2 or 5.0-litre guise) and equipped with a limited-slip diff. Holden's panel vans proved remarkably popular with customers, who came up with some amazing paint jobs, body modifications and fully decked-out interiors, but these days finding an original, unmolested Sandman is the dream of many enthusiasts and as a result, values of these classic sandman panel vans have soared in recent years. 

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