Interesting, Odd or Funny Pics II.

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Originally Posted by V8Ian

Most utes and vans were bog standard Belmonts as they probably weren't driven by the buyer, but Kingswood commercials were available.
HK was the first model that could be almost custom built by the purchaser.

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When I was an apprentice it was HQ,HJ,HX Belmont utes and vans.Boss had the recently released HZ,optioned 253 and bucket seats,4 speed.

Ours were all Belmonts,drum brakes all round,three on the tree,AM radio,and 173 in most of them.
No AC,but had heaters.

How things have changed,tradies wouldn’t cop them today,no AC,wind up windows,no power steering,headlights not much brighter than candles….

On my first job, app diesel fitter, he drove the pride of fleet.
It was a yellow hq ute with air shockies, always loaded with about 3 ton of dozer rollers, track grouser, maybe a sump guard or three and a portable welder that only just fitted.
one of my jobs was to wash it once a week and he spray it down with diesel and wipe it offf
cheers
blaze

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Originally Posted by scarry

When I was an apprentice it was HQ,HJ,HX Belmont utes and vans.Boss had the recently released HZ,optioned 253 and bucket seats,4 speed.

Ours were all Belmonts,drum brakes all round,three on the tree,AM radio,and 173 in most of them.
No AC,but had heaters.

How things have changed,tradies wouldn’t cop them today,no AC,wind up windows,no power steering,headlights not much brighter than candles….

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Dear old dad made sure the 3 HQ's he had for his fella's had front discs, a 202 backed by a Trimatic and radials all round for safety.

When he traded them in for HZ's he leased 1 253 as a trial but it got written off on the first day of use.

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Originally Posted by cuppabillytea

Yep I believe it was the first to be made available in luxury spec. Luxury for the day that is. My Dad had an XL Falcon Delux at the time. It didn't even come with a heater. Did Ford have a Futura Ute?

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AFAIR, the unpopular Futura option was only available on the sedan and hardtop. The wagon offered Squire, both were superseded by Fairmont.

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Originally Posted by V8Ian

AFAIR, the unpopular Futura option was only available on the sedan and hardtop. The wagon offered Squire, both were superseded by Fairmont.

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The Futura name has been in and out of use by Ford for quite a few models. The last use w
as the BF.

When I was an apprentice we had 2 x Mazda 1000 utes, 1 x Lite Stout, 1 x Stout and a J1 Bedford, all pov spec but I don't think any offered options.
The only reason HQ had heaters as standard, was to comply with ADR demisting requirements.
Even Kingswood didn't offer a left hand external mirror as standard.
Was HX or HZ the first Sandman?

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Originally Posted by V8Ian

When I was an apprentice we had 2 x Mazda 1000 utes, 1 x Lite Stout, 1 x Stout and a J1 Bedford, all pov spec but I don't think any offered options.
The only reason HQ had heaters as standard, was to comply with ADR demisting requirements.
Even Kingswood didn't offer a left hand external mirror as standard.
Was HX or HZ the first Sandman?

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Mate in Sydney years ago had a HQ Sandman Van.

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Originally Posted by rick130

Dear old dad made sure the 3 HQ's he had for his fella's had front discs, a 202 backed by a Trimatic and radials all round for safety.

When he traded them in for HZ's he leased 1 253 as a trial but it got written off on the first day of use.

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The disc brakes were an option on the Belmont HQ.i dont know when they became standard.They were so much better than the drums,it was rediculous.
I had my own '74 HQ ute with discs at the time,fiberglass canopy over the rear,great camping wagon,even had the Engle wired up and in the back all the time.
Travelled all over Aus in it,after fitting the higher ratio diff,3.08 from memory.

The first Sandman was the van and ute,late HQ,around '74.

They had a sports dash,similar to Monaro.Maybe bucket seats,and 4 speed on floor,cant remember if that was standard or option?

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Originally Posted by pop058

Mate in Sydney years ago had a HQ Sandman Van.

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Originally Posted by scarry

The disc brakes were an option on the Belmont HQ.i dont know when they became standard.They were so much better than the drums,it was rediculous.
I had my own '74 HQ ute with discs at the time,fiberglass canopy over the rear,great camping wagon,even had the Engle wired up and in the back all the time.
Travelled all over Aus in it,after fitting the higher ratio diff,3.08 from memory.

The first Sandman was the van and ute,late HQ,around '74.

They had a sports dash,similar to Monaro.Maybe bucket seats,and 4 speed on floor,cant remember if that was standard or option?

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Research reveals 1974 HQ as the first Sandman. That probably aligns with the HQ update with minor modifications such as Amber front blinkers, parking lights incorporated into the headlights and IIRC metrication of the Speedo.

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Originally Posted by V8Ian

Research reveals 1974 HQ as the first Sandman. That probably aligns with the HQ update with minor modifications such as Amber front blinkers, parking lights incorporated into the headlights and IIRC metrication of the Speedo.

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I forgot about that,and yes mine had a speedo that had both Km/hr and Miles/hr on the dial.

Wound it nearly right off the speedo down a hill on the Hwy that runs down through Moonie,then onto St George, late one night on the way to the property.[bighmmm]

And the road was a shocker in those days.