The big story
The hot spell is pushing up all ragtop prices – but you may be surprised by just how far classic convertibles’ values have risen
The best ragtop deals
THE BIG STORY
‘Choose carefully and these cars will offer years of fun’
Along summer is enough to make even the most pro-saloon classic lover start wondering about owning a convertible. While they have a dry weather appeal, they’re ideal in the spring as well as summer – drop the top, wind-up the windows and put the heater on.
It’s a very appealing thought. However, for many owners a twoseater is simply a no-no, whether it’s a ragtop or not.
But owning a convertible need not mean sacrificing rear seats
– in fact there are numerous four-seater drop-tops, from prewar cars (think Ford Model As and larger, later 1930s Austins) through to 1980s hot hatchbackderived models.
There are plenty of examples to choose from, especially from the 1940s through to the late1960s/early 1970s. This is the era that produced Morris Minor convertibles, Triumph Heralds and Vitesses (and Stags), rare but desirable BMW ’02s and Ford Mustangs and for the seriously wealthy, Silver Clouds and Corniches.
For those on a budget there’s fourseater drop-top salvation: offered back in May, Charterhouse’s 1955 Ford Consul convertible with plenty of history and owned by the vendor since the early 1960s made £10,545 – a reasonable price for a four-plus seater cabriolet, and one that won’t be losing any of its value.
Costing a little less and featuring Rootes Group’s restrained glitz was a 1959 Sunbeam Rapier convertible, offered by H&H, which was good enough to make £11,137.
While the Morris Minor convertible was offered at the same time as the Rapier, it has a more pedestrian performance but there’s good spares support and numerous specialists to help its cause. A long production run also means finding a good one – either restored or original – isn’t the challenge it can be with other models, although buyers need to be aware that there are plenty
of two-door saloon conversions around. With prices of the very best Minors remaining firm, buyers will now have to stump up more than they might imagine.
In June H&H’s 1969 convertible sold for £10,687 while SWVA’s April sale sent a 1959 convertible conversion off to a new owner for £4325 – in January the Poole auctioneer sold another conversion (a 1962 model) for £7452.
There’s a lot of choice on the market right now – choose carefully and these cars will offer years of fair-weather fun.