introducing myself and looking for my first van

hi all, ive been browsnig this site for a while now and i have to say its bloody great the way everone is so helpfull

this is my first post on the site so ill let you know a bit about me first,

My names Eamonn, im 21, live in WA and looking to get my first panel van, ive been searching for a while now and havent had much luck here around perth.

Ive recently seen a van that looks the goods but unfortunately its over in SA (in Hallet Cove), and as it will be my first old holden im looking for a few pointers on what to look out for and questions i should ask before going over to see it, or if you would recommend getting someone to go and check it out like a mobile mechanic.

the information ive got so far about the van is its a WB van with a HJ front end, its got a 253 with a trimatic. it seems to be a decent body on it but its only got a couple of photos (none of which are in grat detail). ive been told its got a couple of bits of rust but only on the doors.

if it turns out to be alright the plan would be to fly over and drive it back the 2800kms to perth.

any help at all will be much appreciated

cheers
Eamonn

Welcome aboard Eamonn, great to have you here. Everyone on here's pretty helpful and we have some very knowledgeable people on here.
We already have 2 members in Majestic Vanners from WA. Deans in Perth and Andrews in Kalgoorlie, it's always hard commiting to buying a van when it's so far away.
The obvious things to look for are rust in the common areas like in front of windscreen, gutters around top, ute/van line and in the floor. Rust in doors,guards and tail gates I dont think matters that much as you can always bolts other rust free panels on at a later date.
Since your looking at a WB thats had a different front fitted the question I'd be asking is...Did they swap fronts purely for looks or was it in a crash? If it was crashed was it a minor bingle or a more serious crash. Check the rails to see if they're bent, you can also check for cracks also.
Mechanicals never really worried me as I was a mechanic for 10 years so I can do that stuff myself but if you cant do it yourself you may need to pay someone to do it, so the van may end up costing you more than you bargained for.
Sometimes your better off paying a little bit more and getting a better van than buying a cheap as van that seems like a bargain until you get it home and find it's full of rust and bodgy repairs. It'll end up costing you more in the long run to repair a dunger and you'll be forever chasing your arse with rust.
If you could get a reliable mechanic to check it out for you before you flew over that'd be ideal, when I worked for NRMA they use to do used vehicle checks, dont know if they still do but they where pretty thorough inspections, might be worth looking into.
Cheers Rob

Cheers Rob, that was just what I was looking for,
And thanks for the heads up on the typical areas to check up on for rust. I’ve made some enquiries to a couple of companies offering vehicle inspections so hopefully they aren’t too expensive. And if i do get one of them to check it out ill make sure they have a good look for any accident damage as you said. But if anyone recommends anyone near Adelaide ill try check them out too.

here is the ad for the van if it helps anyone point out any other bits to be careful of.

http://www.carpoint.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=9390744&keywords=panel%20van&SearchAction=N&__Ntk=CarAll&__Nne=15&__Dx=mode%20matchany&__D=panel%20van&silo=1011&seot=1&__sid=1294C019CC74&__N=834%201216%201246%201247%201252%201282%204294965857&__Ns=pCar_YearMade_Int32|0||pCar_RankSort_Int32|1||pCar_PriceSort_Decimal|0&__Qpb=true&__Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&Cr=14&__Ntt=panel%20van&trecs=67

dont know if there is a special way to make it a link but if you copy and paste it in the address bar it should work

Gday eamonn, Im the other member in perth. Your right about the site, being informative and helpful. Everyone here seems to encourage rather than discourage. And theyre not a bad bunch either. I know what your saying by searching in perth. It took me a while to find a decent one. But as rob pointed out, I got mine home and realised alot had been bodged. Paid 7k, now owes me over 17k, and still not done. Doing the bodywork now, which will take some time. Searching over east is an option, but remember that whats legal over there, would be a fail over here. There is vans with promise here, you just have to weed them out and be patient. It could save you thousands.

Hi welcome to the site,mate ask if he will send you some photo's of the van in the sun.As i'm always worried about pictures, the are taken at dusk. And from a distance

Welcome aboard Eamonn. Looks like we might have another WB owner soon? Rob summed it up pretty well - the ad looks great, and the body looks clean and straight, but if it's been in a major prang, then the test will show it.

If you are getting it tested before you buy, I think that's the best thing - no surprises then.

The SA equivalent of the NRMA also have a testing service: http://www.raa.com.au/page.aspx?SecID=74

On the positive side, GTS dash, Steering wheel and wheels are all very good things and cost a lot of $$$ if you add them later. Ask the owner if all the gauges work on the dash. Ask him also to send some pictures under the bonnet. He's got the good pictures on the ad, but perhaps there's something that's no so good under the bonnet.

Keep us informed.

Cheers
Perry

Just a couple of minor things i noticed on the add. If you were to buy it, you would have to run it over the pits here to rego it. Theres no display on the dash for the column shift, has it been passed with the bucket seats? And does the windscreen demister work? Looks like a possible good buy but!

It looks to be very straight, a few things I noticed with it are:
+White needle GTS dash, so it's not factory fitted but as long as it works should be all good
+I wouldn't pass it for rego due to the tail lights, needs side indicators if your going to run early model tail lights.
+It's got early model tin mirrors too, maybe the doors have been replaced?
+One yellow tail gate hinge? Whats going on there?
+As Dean pointed out no gear indicator, if you didn't want to change dash facias than column shift LH Toranas had a pointer and indicator on the column that fits with 3 or 4 screws.
+Single headlight HJ front, maybe it has been in a crash.
+Cant see the exhaust outlet, may need to change for WA rego?

Otherwise it looks pretty good, be keen to see under the bonnet.
Be worthwhile getting it checked out by someone before you travel all that way mate.

cheers dean, points that i would never have thought to check up on, but i know getting it registered in WA will be a bit of a hassle. Ive been trying to be patient, looked at a a fair few that perth has had to offer over the last year but there has always been something that kills the sale, or if its any good itll be gone in a day or two. as you said its a pretty tough market here

cheers for the input smallvan, the pics do seem a little bit suspect, he is going to get some more pics over to me when he gets the chance. some of rust repairs and engine bar shots too.

and thanks for the link perry, ive heard back form a company called Motacheck, i got a quote around the 270 mark (a bit more then i thought it was gonna be, but i suppose its better then finding any big surprises later on) to have a full inspection. all their info and what they include is on the website below, it seems thorough but see what you guys think about them.
http://www.motacheck.net/
and they said it would take 2 to 3 hours and will include around 50 photos and a written report, so i might check out how RAA compare to that before i make my mind up

Thanks again Rob for the extra pointers, all great things to know and follow up on, might even give me some bargaining power. and pretty certain ill gett an inspection done, after all it will be cheaper then a return flight.

thank you all again for your help so far, ill let you know any more info i get on it.
Eamonn

G'day Eamonn and welcome to the forum, I bought my van from Adelaide sight unseen and have found quite a few nasty bits. It is in being painted at the moment, body was excellent, bolt off panels were pretty well stuffed. Would be really good idea to get it checked over, hope all goes well mate.

http://perth.gumtree.com.au/c-Cars-Vehicles-Motorbikes-Parts-van-ute-HX-PANELVAN-FOR-SALE-W0QQAdIdZ237771896
http://perth.gumtree.com.au/c-Cars-Vehicles-Motorbikes-Parts-van-ute-Holden-HK-T-G-Windowless-Panel-Van-1968-W0QQAdIdZ218693831

That HX-HZ sounds alright, 308, Turbo 400 and 9 inch for 3K! No photos though.

No photos "suit restoration or parts" usually means it's tired. Would be worth a look, you never know.

cheers dean, ive seen that HK van up for a while, looks great but hoping to find a hq - wb, at the moment anyway. ill try have a look into the hx he is only about 40 minute away from me at most. it looks like its got a good setup but good chance its best days are behind it by the looks of the ad.

and ive been talking to the owner of the WB on carsales, front end was changed by himself out of preference over the WB front, and it will need a gear indicator and he said the exhaust ends just after the rear axle, so they will all need to be fixed up before rego here, forgot to ask if he still had the wb taillights tho, and about the dash. will let you guys know how the test goes if i can arrange a time.

aboard Eamonn.

Good Luck with your Quest.

regards

Rusty!

I know where theres a yellow wb that could be had for the right price.........

hey guys,

thanks for the welcome rusty, and whats the right price dean?

sorry i havent had the time to let you all know about that WB, turns out wast the van for me, a bit sad but glad i got the test done, ive got the report and pics from the mechanic, so pretty happy i got that done and saved myself alot of hassle and time (not to mention the cash as well)

Ive found a nice looking HX locally that im going to check out after work tomorrow, heres the address to the add:

http://perth.gumtree.com.au/c-Cars-Vehicles-Motorbikes-Parts-van-ute-1977-Holden-Sandman-HX-Must-Sell-W0QQAdIdZ240167598#

if you spot anything that looks odd or i should pay particular attention to id really appreciate any input like last time?

and seller mentioned it was originally a V8 but has at some point been downgraded to a 202.

now im not to sure on how it all works but, because it was originally an 8 will it be easier to register if i change it back?
cheers,
Eamonn

Im pretty sure ive seen that van up for sale before. Maybe the same seller? Or maybe not? I'd be more than willing to come have a look with you if youd like? Since having mine, ive learnt alot about the ways people hide stuff to sell it on. Unfortunately, ive learnt the hard way. And Im pretty sure the guys on here would be able to answer a fair few questions also!

Hey Dean, another opinion would be awesome, im giong to have a quick look this avo after work and ill take some more/better photos, and ill try to load some up on here with any more info on the van i find out. But if it looks good to me ill let you know and see when your free. and where abouts are you in perth if you dont mind me asking? the van is in Waikiki, and im just a bit north of the river.

cheers,
Eamonn

Looks fairly straight Eamonn, if its a HX Sandman though it's got the wrong dash, (should be GTS) and it's got a HZ grill. The easiest way to tell what size motor it originally had is by checking the compliance plates. On the one on the passenger side(assuming they havent been removed) where it says eng it will have either L20, L32 or L31.
L20= 6 cylinder
L32=253
L31=308

Gearboxes were:

M15= 3 speed
M20= 4 speed
M21= 4 speed(308)
M40= auto
M41= Turbo 400

If you want to get the numbers off all the plates we can tell you what it originally was. It does look straight and solid in the photos though.

cheers rob, should be easy enough to figure out what it had with those codes, thanks for putting them up, ill grab all the info off of the plates. I dont think ill hold my breath on it being an original sandman. would be nice if it was originally a 308 auto set up tho.

just speaking with the seller then, he has a guy coming to check it out around 3pm and i wont be able to make it till 530ish, hopefulley it'll still be around then.

For proper hx sandman.

Full length roof lining with tooth section at back.

Should be seating capacity of 2

Trim codes can be 18V, 60A, 65A, 67A

Tyre placard should have part number of 9942990 or 9942992

So, did you have a look at the van? If so, what'd you think? Im in forrestfield. Not a problem to go down to rockingham but. Takes about 30min. Used to go down there everyday for work when i was stuck doing local driving.

hey Dean, sorry its taken a while to get back to the site. but yeah, had a look at the van, was pretty rough, and seller had only owned it 2 weeks and the owner before him was less then 6 months so alarm bells were ringing.

checked the plates, wasnt a sandman (wasnt really excpecting it to be though) and as far as i could tell was never registered as a V8.

i was the apparently 6th or 7th guy to look at it, only advertised a couple of days. seller told me it had plenty of bog in the body and looked to have aswell. and the whole inside of the back was lined with carpet so couldnt really tell what the panels were like form the inside.

engine was pretty warm when i got there and when it was running the exhaust was pouring out a something black, didnt feel like oil, got a bit of a blocked nose but didnt seem to smell like petrol. took it for a quick drive and it drove alright. But gonna give this one a pass and go back to playing the waiting game a bit longer to find the right one, but also starting to think it might be time to try re-adjust my budget a bit and go for something thats been taken care of a bit better.

Yep, thought i'd seen it up for sale before. I admire your patience. Hopefully, it will pay dividends, and I'm sure it will. Being in rockingham, next to the ocean...... Good call! Will keep looking out for you.