History
This is a 2010 model Holden Ute which I purchased in 2015 with the Sandman canopy already fitted. I then used this vehicle as my everyday work truck until June 2017, at which point I took it off the road and began the upgrade you see here.
Modifications
This vehicle has been transformed from it's original factory color of Poison Ivy by way of a "Custom Vinyl Wrap".
“I knew that I wanted to re-create the Mambo/Holden
Concept Van look which was based on the earlier model VU
and introduced at the Sydney International Motor Show back
in 2000.
“After a lot of research on this vehicle and looking at the VE
model which I have, I sat down and spent countless hours
at the computer. I didn’t want to have the graphics on the
bonnet and front bar so I modified the size and design to
remain on the sides only and of course, include the well
known “Sandman’ logo on the tailgate.
“Again, a lot of time and thought went into the colour
scheme. I didn’t want to stray too much from the original,
so I decided to use the Aurora Orange flake as the base
colour. I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted with the range of
colours on the market at the time, so I went with a retro look
and printed the graphics. These were done (print/cut) on a
Roland XR640 and applied over the top of the wrap.
“The first issue was to fill in the huge number plate recess in
the tailgate and ‘french in’ a much smaller one to re-house
the plate, lights & camera. Whilst this was being attended to,
a cartoonist was commissioned to come up with a mural with a truly Aussie flavour to adorn the side panels.
“All the window recesses were done in gloss black, as were
the underside of the sills, front bar and rear bar. A set of Rola
roof bars were bolted on top and the standard mufflers were
replaced with the SS V8 set. A new set of 20” Simmons
wheels were bolted on and fitted with 245/35 tyres on the
front and 275/30 on the rear. The only thing left was to throw
in a new set of Pedders Sports Ryder coils and dump the
van a bit closer to the ground.
“The biggest challenge during this job was to actually see it
through to completion at the level I wanted it to be. I faced
a couple of health issues that made the project a challenge.
A huge thank you goes out to my wife Fran, as without
her persistence, support and belief, it may not have been
completed.
“All in all, to do this job took about 60 hours over a 10 month
period, plus all the research and computer time that went
into making it happen.
