OK Gen3 Vert Heads, you now have your own corner. I like to welcome the newbies by saying that NAM is an enlightened group of individuals that recognize the MINI as a great handling car. Those with a MINI droptop are somewhat more enlightened, not that I have any preferences on the type of car I drive . . . .

 

OK, all y'all Gen 3 drop head rookies, if it's not raining, snowing, your co-pilot isn't whinging about being too hot or too cold, there's not a bunch of good ol' boys throwing empty beer cans in the back seat without inviting you, get that dang top down. After all, topless motoring is motoring at it's best and always remember, without pictures it didn't happen.

 

Okay, I have Clubman (with a sunroof, if that counts at all).... and a V-12 Jaguar convertible, because there are those days

 

There is something about looking over your left shoulder and seeing nothing but the outside world.

 

Indeed! Like this week here on the Left Coast, behind the Orange Curtain, where it has been in the low 80's. Cruisin' down Pacific Coast Highway, with Catalina Island crystal clear to the right and the San Gabriel Mountains 25 miles inland, also crystal clear, and no obstructions to the view, with the dry Santa Ana wind buffeting. Sunburn and chapped lips in Surf City in December.

Other than a few pesky wildfires that are threatening to burn our entire lifestyle to the ground, life ain't bad, in a British convertible goin' topless.....

 

Sunroof - I don't know - but the other grabbed my gut. I still suffer over letting my '62 4.2 E Type roadster (in BRG) get away from from me 40+ years ago.

 

We had a 2014 Cooper Roadster that we enjoyed, but not near enough pep for my taste. We just recently traded and got a 2017 topless JCW. Wow - it has definitely made it fun to just go run an errand. Sun is shining brightly today. Not sure where I'm going, but I'm going somewhere.

 

Only owned two drop tops in my life, a '58 Alfa, and a early '60's Honda 600 Sport. They were fun at the time. After that it was various T-tops and Targa's with the odd Sun/Moon roof thrown into the mix. These days I don't even want a sun roof since I almost lost my left arm to a rare manifestation of skin cancer. Granted, convertibles had little or nothing to do with it since I spent most of my career in the USAF working outside in the tropics and subtropics except for my time in CA and FL. Don't get me wrong, If I were 20 years younger I probably would have a JCW vert just because I love the wind in my face. Heck, I wouldn't have ridden motorcycles for almost 50 years of my life if I didn't. Just think about the sunscreen when you're cruising top down, because that sunburn you get today might come back and bite you in the a$$ farther down the road.
Okay, enough of the wet blanket. Y'all drop the top and go cruising' because it's a beautiful day, although a tad nippy.

 

Sadly, spot on. True story -- last trip in my vert down Pacific Coast Highway was for a follow up visit to my dermatologist to confirm that the 4 inch incision on my right forearm is healing properly -- an incision he made to remove a nice fat in situ melanoma. So, yeah, I got bit too. Doc said it's like weed seeds in a garden. Some sprout and you gotta dig them out before they spread.

 

I've had a few topless cars throughout my life. My first was a '68 Triumph TR250 - probably the one car I wish I still had. I had a Jeep CJ5 - not sure it would be technically be considered a convertible, but you certainly felt the wind in your hair. I have a '04 BMW Z4 still gets some road time on occasion.

The first two were before kid and the last three (including the other Mini) are after. Although I don't drive with the top down as much as I would like, I do enjoy having the option. A sunroof just doesn't do it for me.

Sunscreen is recommended, but really one of my favorite times to drive with the top down is at night. Give me a cool night, top down, heat on, and Talking Heads - Burning Down the House cranked on the radio, and you have the perfect blend - at least in my book.

 

Throw in a little ZZ Top and that sounds like a perfect combination to me. Reading your post it reminded me of my CJ5 too. No top, so I guess that counts too?

 

That little band from Texas works just as good.

 

Recently we were thinking about letting go of our convert -- we use it so infrequently these days, primarily because the MINI has become the weapon of choice of late. It's so darned fun and well-sorted. After reading this thread and reflecting on my most recent trip down the highway with the top down, I think I'll go another year and try to get the old garage queen out more often.

George Thorogood and the Destroyers works well for me. The old Kenwood head unit and amp with the Bazooka subwoofer still can crank it out, though my hearing ain't what it used to be....

 

But then there was that time two years ago when, for our anniversary, the Little Missus and I decided to head down to Dana Point for a nice fish lunch. We took the convertible and kept the top up for the ride down so we wouldn't be too windblown for the restaurant.

After lunch we put the top down and headed back north up Pacific Coast Highway. Got as far as South Laguna when there was knocking and power loss. I knew immediately what it was, having been to this rodeo once before.

The way the Jaguar V-12 is designed, there are basically two straight sixes cobbled together. If one bank goes, the car still will sort of run on six cylinders, but, the injectors keep dumping fuel into both banks and the bank that isn't firing just pumps the raw fuel into the cat.

Some say this is an example of how well-engineered these cars are. The cylinder bank fails, the raw gas goes into the hot cat, the car burns, you make the insurance claim and get a new Jag.

Instead, I shut the car down immediately. My very understanding wife enjoyed the ride from Laguna to our mechanic's shop in Huntington Beach, in the cab of the flat bed. Makes for a lovely anniversary memory.

Ah, the flat bed tow truck; the natural habitat of the modern Jaguar.....

 

Yeah, you've got to wonder about a brand who's most positive advertising in decades was "We don't use Lucas Electrics" any more.

Joe Lucas — or, more accurately, the company bearing his name — engineered electrical bits for pretty much everything emanating from the UK, and the notorious unreliability of Lucas components played a key role in tanking the British car industry in the early 1980s. "If Lucas made guns, wars would not start."

The Lucas motto: "Get home before dark."
Lucas is the patent holder for the short circuit.
Lucas - Inventor of the first intermittent wiper.
Lucas - Inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.
The three position Lucas switch - Dim, Flicker and Off.
The Original Anti-Theft Device - Lucas Electrics.
Lucas is an acronym for Loose Unsoldered Connections and Splices

 

Another topless motoring attribute encourages forgetting some things on an errand run on purpose extending the driving pleasure.

And: Lucas, the prince of darkness. Suffered equally with a '62 TR Spitfire and my '63 Jag. Hit the starter button one morning and near burned off my thumb.

 

Why didn't the Germans bomb the Lucas plants during WWII? The Germans considered Lucas an ally.
"And the Lord said 'let there be light'...Joseph Lucas replied 'no way, Lord, no way'."
Lucas denies having invented darkness. But they still claim "sudden, unexpected darkness".
The three-position Lucas switch--The other three switch settings--SMOKE, SMOLDER and IGNITE.
Did you hear about the Lucas powered torpedo? It sank.
It's not true that Lucas, in 1947, tried to get Parliament to repeal Ohm's Law. They withdrew their efforts when they met too much resistance.
Did you hear the one about the guy that peeked into a Land Rover and asked the owner "How can you tell one switch from another at night, since they all look the same?" "He replied, it doesn't matter which one you use, nothing happens!"
Back in the '70s Lucas decided to diversify its product line and began manufacturing vacuum cleaners. It was the only product they offered which didn't suck.
Quality Assurance phoned and advised the Engineering guy that they had trouble with his design shorting out. So he made the wires longer.
Why do the English drink warm beer? Lucas made the refrigerators, too.
Alexander Graham Bell invented the Telephone. Thomas Edison invented the Light Bulb. Joseph Lucas invented the Short Circuit.
Recommended procedure before taking on a repair of Lucas equipment: check the position of the stars, kill a chicken and walk three times clockwise around your car chanting: "Oh mighty Prince of Darkness protect your unworthy servant."
Lucas systems actually uses AC current; it just has a random frequency.
In the 1980's Lucas tried to get into the newly burgeoning PC market, but they discontinued the product when they couldn make it leak oil.
Why are there no skyscrapers in London? Lucas makes elevators
Lucas Factory motto, put in a good day's work then home before dark.
Why is there no death penalty in England? Lucas makes electric chairs.

But, hey, "I've had a Lucas pacemaker for years and have never experienced any prob...

 

When we first got my wife's 1984 Jag, the ignition key would get quite warm. The salesman actually tried to convince us that the "key warmer" was a designed feature.

 

Borrowed one of these from my brother in the 70's. Day after I returned it the entire wiring harness caught on fire. I did have it up to about 110mph, but still it wasn't my fault. Let's blame you know who, as I assume it was his electronics.

Fun car to drive when it wasn't on fire!



Triumph GT-6

 

Nice photo!

I believe Triumph did make a Spitfire!! Good name, I think.

 

This was me back in Feb 18th, '68 at the EVSCC 'Summerland Slide' autocross down in the Keys. I was stationed down there, temporary duty, at the Fleet ASW school.



The white classic showing his li'l butt was nicknamed the flyin' brick so with fond memories of those days I chose that for my screen name.

 

That's a MGB to the right of the Camaro/Firebird. I had a Harvest Gold 1973 MGB, first car I bought; 2240 lbs, 1800 cc motor, 91" wheel base and 78 HP. My R52 JCW is my seventh convertible; 2848 lbs, 1600 cc motor, 91" wheel base and 235 HP (modded).

 

Key West NAS. Tough duty. Last time I was down there was '99 IIRC. Wonder how the MWR trailers did in the last storm.

 

That's awesome.

 

Threatening clouds but I still ran around enjoying cool topless breezes.