Rag Top

We have been talking about ways to keep a car cool in the hot weather before air conditioning came into use.

Of course, the easiest way to feel the breeze was to own a convertible (often known as a “Rag Top”) because it had a cover which could be raised during rainy or cold weather. There were some of them around Superior. Virginia Meier was the envy of most of us as she tooled around town in her Buick convertible.

By the way, Virginia’s father was a first-rate mechanic. I had problems with my 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle with the engine cutting out. I had several places look at it and no one diagnosed the problem. Aunt Lena said to take my car to Hugh Meier. He quickly found I had a defective rubber part in my fuel pump that was causing the intermittent cut out of the engine. He fixed it and the problem was solved.

Ford made a convertible which had a roof that was stowed in the trunk area when the weather was nice. Some device would pop the top out of the trunk and seat it on the car like a normal hard top sedan. At least one of these ran around Superior for a while, but the idea never really caught on and I think Ford only made one or two years of this car.

There was a certain amount of prestige that came from owning a Rag Top, but you better have a good heater in it during the winter.