Used Ford Falcon V8 XD Sundowner Panelvan Suit Holden Sandman Chev Van buyer

Seller Description

Having restored a GT sedan in the past, the owners of this
car were looking for a panel van project and being a Ford nut he was quite
clear about not doing a Sandman… This is the result of all his hard work… A
fully restored, nut and bolt 1981 Ford Falcon Sundowner Panelvan, multi award
and trophy winning car with only 1,221K’s travelled since it’s restoration. So
here’s a bit about it…
This Sundowner was found locally to the owner and was a
country car from the St George area in south-western Queensland. It was in need
of a full restoration but the body was solid and only needed some rust repairs
in the sills and some panel work so the shell was stripped for a full body
restoration so the assembly could be done like a band new car. The whole thing
ended up on a rotisserie, so every nut, bolt and screw was replaced or replated
and reconditioned.

This was originally a factory 302 V8 manual, the owner had
the engine built and dressed as a 351 Cleveland bolted up to a reconditioned
single rail 4 speed manual transmission, reconditioned Borg Warner diff with 4
wheel disc brakes, it also has reconditioned factory power steering and air conditioning.
The car has been built to look as factory as possible with only a few internal
mods, a Holley carburettor lives under the 5.8 air cleaner and you know when
you turn the key that she’s not stock and has a nice cammy rumble to her.
When it came to reassembly, parts were a challenge, they are
out there but it took years to get everything together and quite a bit of NOS
pieces were used in the build.
It took two-and-a-half years to build and spent the first 18
months in the panel shop to do everything correctly and you have to remember
this was an inside and out body resto. The assembly took about a year and the
owner had the best part of everything lined up to go back together once the
body was done… the engine was ready, the gearbox was done, the dash
reconditioned, the seats redone – it’s quite a list but it was prepared while
the shell was being restored. With that said don’t assume this was an easy
build, the graphics alone were a massive undertaking. A company in Ballarat
reproduced them.. He does a very good kit but the application was incredibly
laborious, a very experienced sign writer spent two weekends doing the install.
The spoiler on the rear of the roof is also a ridiculously
impossible item to find but luckily was still on the van when purchased. It’s a
very rare piece and was factory-fitted. It’s made from a rubber-like compound
and is quite flexible and can crack quite easily so this van is lucky to still
have it’s spoiler.
With only approximately 250 Sundowners ever built this is an
incredibly rare and immaculate van. Only around 90 of them where built in 1981
making the XD Sundowner van a real unicorn. There were even less in 1982 and
then the Sundowner badge disappeared forever.
Please see the seven82motors website for over 150 detailed
photos of this car and it’s build.
Located at
SEVEN82MOTORS Classic’s, Lowriders & Muscle cars, specializing in
Australian & American car sales and available to view in the showroom at
132 Spencer Road, Nerang on the Gold Coast, Queensland.
PLEASE NOTE: This
vehicle is being sold on consignment, consignment vehicles are sold as is
without registration unless otherwise stated and there is no cooling off period
or warranty expressed written or implied by the consignee. Information is
provided to us by the consignee and is the responsibility of the buyer to have
thoroughly inspected the vehicle, and to have satisfied himself or herself as
to the condition and value and to purchase based upon that judgement solely.
.