Help with Top Options please

[Joe Dozzo]

I'm trying to become a bit more informed on the GTX1's before getting too seriously over my head! I suspect which top (or lack thereof) probably won't be the deciding factor for me, but for a car that would spend time in Denver / Anchorage it's also not a trivial consideration!

Can someone help me understand what options exist for GTX1 tops please?

I understand there were / are 3:

1. an "original" hardtop from Genaddi

2. a "new" hardtop from Kip

3. a new soft top from Steve / White Knight


Any advantages / disadvantages of one over another?

Thanks!

 

[HHGT]

There were many exotics that never had a top. I think I like option 4 the best - No Top.

 

[BlackICE]

I don't think any of the original tops were really watertight.

 

[shelbyelite]

Any top that came from Genaddi is useless. Only tops that are good are the knights soft tops and the Kip Ewing hard top. I personally recommend the Kip hard top. Having personally bought and sold several X1s, I am speaking first hand having had all the different top options here at our shop at one time or another. The Kip hard top would be my personal choice. It's by FAR the best looking and most water tight top offered.

 

[Nardo GT]

3: Top options

I prefer 34C

 

[fjpikul]

I think Kirby Viera is the guy to talk to.

 

[Joe Dozzo]

Thanks all, appreciate the feedback.

 

[Steve Woodrough]

Any top that came from Genaddi is useless. Only tops that are good are the knights soft tops and the Kip Ewing hard top. I personally recommend the Kip hard top. Having personally bought and sold several X1s, I am speaking first hand having had all the different top options here at our shop at one time or another. The Kip hard top would be my personal choice. It's by FAR the best looking and most water tight top offered.

Hi Shelby:

Your statement "Any top that came from Genaddi is useless" is not totally accurate. Perhaps I got very lucky, but the hard top on my X1 works perfectly and is watertight. My guess is that Mark probably made a special effort to make sure my top had watertight fit since he knew that he and I would be driving my X1 in the Inagural Fireball Run in 2007 from Orlando to Los Angeles. During the course of that event, we drove through several very heavy thunderstorms and torrential rain showers and never felt a drop of water.

All that said, however, I totally agree with your comments about the overall design and "look" of the X1 hard top made by Kip Ewing. That top is a classic illustration of genuine "top-drawer" engineering and design, and far surpasses the design and look of the Genaddi top. Unfortunately, I cannot justify the cost of installing Kip's top solely on the basis of a better look. If my top wasn't watertight, however, there isn't the slightest doubt in my mind that I would place an order with Kip to have his hard top installed on my X1, and I would do it in a heartbeat before they become extinct - a fate that all people and things eventually endure.

Best regards,

Steve

 

[cobraownr]

I'm with Steve W. My GTX1 No. 2 has a hardtop supplied by Genaddi. It is quite functional, although not perfect. To say that any top supplied by Genaddi is "useless" is simply incorrect, given my personal experience with mine. I don't know how many GTX1 hardtops Genaddi built, but two of them (mine and Steve's) are OK. Without taking anything away from Kip's product, anyone considering a GTX1 with a Genaddi hardtop would likely be far better off from a cost standpoint fiddling with the Genaddi top to make it better than buying a new top from Kip or anyone else.

 

[Shelby#18]

I've had all three. Kips is the best for a Hardtop, Steve's is the best for a Soft Top (if you want to be able to take it off and store in the car). Both my Genaddi tops leaked like sieves, and I could never get them completely sealed even after having others work on them.

 

[stevo]

There are in fact 4 Options.
The first is not advisable: I have sent my GTX from Europe to Kip for major repairs including the renewal of the entire hard top.
The second is my choice
The 3rd seems good
The 4th: Kip is now moulding a soft top which could be better than Knight's. I'm awaiting more info on that.

 

[shelbyelite]

I would love to see Cobra's and Steve's tops, because out of the 3 or 4 Genaddi hard tops I have had here with the various X1s we have had, there was NO WAY to make the top function correctlty and not leak. Further, I know of several instances where Genaddi tops were ripped off the cars by wind when driving at speeds over 70 mph. I have not seen every top made by Genaddi, so I guess it was unfair to say EVERY top from Genaddi was useless, but every one I have had personal experience with, was in fact, useless. They were a nice "idea", but simply one that just would not work from any angle that we looked at it to try to make it function and not leak and have confidence that it would not get ripped off while driving down the road.

My apologies to Steve or anyone else that my comment may have offended. That was not my intent. Just wanted to simply make aware that any top from Genaddi I have had experience with was not good or useable.

 

[Kelly-X1]

I had an X1 and had it fitted with the soft top and Kip's top. As far as convenience, the soft top is nice to have for an emergency, I used mine in TX to keep the road spray out, it seemed to do a good job. As for looks, Kips absolutely rocks! I love the way it looked. Just be prepared to be without your car for a while, Kip is very busy and his artistry takes time. If cost is no object I'd really get both, but if I could choose only one, I'd give Kip your car over the winter and then you'd have it by driving time next spring. Good luck, I miss mine so much. Can't wait to pick up a standard GT maybe this year. The X1 was a bit stressful for me, the attention and worry about accidents, etc. If money was no object, I'd have kept mine and got a GT for my daily driver. Better go back to work and build up my GT kitty. Cheers all.

 

[TGX1]

As an X1 owner I agree with all of the above comments which really quite consistently agree with one another. Kips top looks and i am sure works great and is a great hard top option, but a soft top sure is convenient (which i have not yet purchased, and am excited to here that Kip has another project going). My original Gennaddi top is 99% leak free and serves its purpose quite well. In exactly the wrong conditions it will leak a bit at the A-Pillar interface, like at this years Woodward Dream Cruise, however overall works and hasn't blown off as of yet (of course i have never exceeded 70 mph that was mentioned above as that is the speed limit here in MI, lol).

Tiim

 

[cedarstang]

I have an X1 #21 with a Gennaddi top and as Tim said it is 99% leak free. But the FGTX1 is meant to be top free so 99.9% of the time that is how my car is. If it looks like rain it stays in. But it would be nice to have a soft top along just in case so I will follow to see how Kips new project can be stored. I also know mine was rock solid at a lot better than 70MPH , I wish I could say the same for me.
John