SOFT top car enthusiasts converged on Jindera at the weekend for the first Pop the Top festival.
The southern NSW festival, catering exclusively for convertible cars of all makes and models, was led by Gold Logie award winning actor John Wood and attracted people from NSW and Victoria.
Mr Wood drove his own 1955 MG TF from Melbourne to lead the street parade on Saturday and announce he would be the festival’s patron for three years.
Visitors enjoyed inspecting and photographing a bevy of Saab, Capri, MG, Mercedes, Mustang, Triumph, classic and vintage convertibles.
Among the cars on display was a 1961 Imperial Crown convertible owned by Brent Van De Stadt, of Table Top.
Brent found the car abandoned and derelict on a South African street and completely restored the vehicle before shipping it to Australia 13 years ago.
When tracing the history of the car, he found it was once used by gangsters to run diamonds and later owned by a champion boxer.
“The gangsters would hide the diamonds in the side panels and use the car’s powerful V8 motor to outrun the police,’’ Brent said.
“There were 429 of these cars made in 1961 and this is the only one in Australia.
“There are just 10 convertibles left in the world.’’
Kathleen Revill, of Canberra, had her award winning 1994 XR2 Ford Capri on display.
Ms Revill, a member of the ACT Ford Small Owners Club, has been an enthusiastic supporter of the soft top festival from the outset.
Shane and Dale Houghton, of the Triumph Owners Association, travelled from Melbourne in their 1977 Stag Triumph, one of 14 cars built.
Paul Williams, of Baranduda, had the oldest convertible on display – a 1925 Buick – and is keen to buy another veteran car circa 1910 to restore.
Almost 40 owners vied for prizes, including people’s choice, best restored, interior, pre and post 1960 and best presented.
They enjoyed a drive-in movie screening on Saturday night and a tour of the region on Sunday, finishing with the Australian Soft Top Expo awards at Table Top mountain.
