I almost always like the lines of a coupe more than a convertible. Usually, a convertible is designed after the closed car, and they just remove the roof, cutting up the flow and the body lines.
With the top-up, they usually feel small. Sometimes they leak, sometimes they whistle, and sometimes they even pop and buck up and down like a loose tarp if they’re got some age, and usually some duct tape here and there. With the top down, the sun gets to you at low speed and the wind at high speed. I have owned a car with a targa top, though, and although it was both hot and loud with it off, it was still off a lot.
Honestly, in the rain, it didn’t matter whether it was on or off, you were getting wet. Even with new weatherstrip, the corners leaked, so your knee and shoulder would be soaked. At the right speed in the rain, top off, windows up, it was actually pretty dry. I don’t have any wind tunnel tests to prove why, but I know that it worked. In terms of looks, I drastically prefer the look of a targa top, or T-tops. Have a look at this T/A. It’s cool, but it doesn’t flow quite the same as the Bandit.
As many downsides as there are, convertibles still command a premium. There’s almost always less of them than their coupe counterparts, and as the old saying goes, “top goes down, price goes up.” Honestly, for someone who wants a nice car to tool around in on a nice weekend, you really can’t beat a convertible. For short distances and low speeds, neither the sun nor the wind is a factor. I talked to a guy a few months ago at a gas stop who had a ‘69 Chevelle convertible. It was a 350 automatic, and he said he would have rather had a 396 four-speed.
Even though I agreed I still had to say, “at least it’s a convertible, so that’s cool.” As for the custom jobs, they’re hit-and-miss with me. I saw one of these T/A convertibles once. It was a white, square-headlight unit, and it was in perfect condition. The fit-and-finish was good, but you could tell it wasn’t that way from new. The top was up, and nothing really flowed. There were a lot of odd fasteners in odd places, the back seat was dark and mostly useless (as it also was in the coupe, to be fair), and it had old-guy wire wheels on it. I never thought about lying on the ground to have a look, but apparently, the American Convertible Corporation tied the front and rear subframes together to replace the structure that was removed from the roof. Does the price go up when the top that goes down is an aftermarket conversion? From what I’ve seen, it’s hit and miss, so if you want a convertible, search outside the box, and you might find a deal.
Have a question or comment for Kelly? Post it at lmtimes.ca/kirk
