Interesting , comments welcome .

[FL SAAC]

I like the gold paint. I would at least paint the car.

Only original once,  the historical significance out weights the restoration

One of two painted this gold

Keep as is it sell

[shelbydoug]

It is a bit of a can of worms to consider what if anything to do with the car as it is now?

To those who never saw these cars new in as delivered condition, they were never as detailed as what many "so called accurate" restorations represent them to be now.

Probably it is more accurate to state that each car had it's own cosmetic imperfections new and few had none.

Basically they were just clean. The seats were not wrinkled yet. The S/C's had vinyl upholstery. Leather was for the street cars.



Unfortunately or fortunately, what current "caretakers" do IS strongly influenced by market or potential market values. A $3 million offer as is really is very influential. It is almost a sentence to live with.

For me, my thinking is that I can't make that judgement unless I owned the car and frankly although I love real Cobras, I don't think I would want to own one. It's kind of like being the "significant other" of a celebrity.
I would just as well, not want to be. Just say hello once in a while.

That should be a private thing and not influenced or even regulated by other public opinion. Owning a real Cobra these days, dealing with it as what it was intended to be, a real car is past. It is an historical icon and that is well beyond normal life occurrences.

The car is bigger then the person who owns it. That is difficult to conceive of rationally at least to me.

[acapulco350]

Is the gold a factory colour ?

Really seems to suit it well

I like the gold paint. I would at least paint the car.

[shelbydoug]

One of the Ford GT's that finished 1-2-3 at Lemans was gold. The #5 car. It seems to suit it well but really is a matter of taste.

My favorite gold car is the the #1 Detomaso Mangusta that was the show car with the glass roof panels and the Corvette coupes in gold look to me to be an outstanding choice.

Also everyone is presuming that the Cobra is wearing the original factory applied paint and was never repainted or touched up in it's racing career?

[hertzz350]

If the gold was all faded to one even shade i would 100 percent say leave as is. To me, its just a little too far gone to keep it like that.

[shelbydoug]

One of the Ford GT's that finished 1-2-3 at Lemans was gold. The #5 car. It seems to suit it well but really is a matter of taste.

My favorite gold car is the the #1 Detomaso Mangusta that was the show car with the glass roof panels and the Corvette coupes in gold look to me to be an outstanding choice.

[Coralsnake]

I like the one gold 1969 Shelby

 

[propayne]

Here is sharper version of that vintage pic of it.

This is such a great angle.



- Phillip

[Bill]

I like the one gold 1969 Shelby

 

Me too 

[computerworks]

Here is the other gold 427SC, having a bit more proper restoration...

[FL SAAC]

That is just such a awesome car.

And they say that, "this was 1 of 2 cars painted Hertz Gold at the factory" now that's rare!

[Bill]

I like the one gold 1969 Shelby

 

Forgot the picture 

You cannot view this attachment.

Car is still located in the Carolina's and owned by a single family since new

[98SVT - was 06GT]

One of the Ford GT's that finished 1-2-3 at Lemans was gold. The #5 car. It seems to suit it well but really is a matter of taste.

Yes The Bucknam car with the ugly pink accents by the headlights. It wasn't the fastest color finishing 3rd behind the winning Mile's Blue car and the black one the FIA claimed was the winner.....

[Cobra Ned]

I note that a number of people agree that it would be a crime to restore this car, because it's so original. But is it? No. It wore its original paint in the photo above with Carter Gette circa '72 in the car with the Country Squire wagon looking to the right. A few years later the car was sold to two more owners, and it was given a restoration that included a repaint in Guardsman Blue. It stayed blue for at least 30 years thereafter until it was "depainted" using ice and a razor blade.
That is why the gold paint has so many spots of blue, and of course the finish looks pretty tired because it was heavily sanded before the repaint in blue. Which one might say is a type of created patina. Is this an unrestored Cobra? Nope. More accurately, it is an "un-restored" Cobra.

[shelbydoug]

I note that a number of people agree that it would be a crime to restore this car, because it's so original. But is it? No. It wore its original paint in the photo above with Carter Gette circa '72 in the car with the Country Squire wagon looking to the right. A few years later the car was sold to two more owners, and it was given a restoration that included a repaint in Guardsman Blue. It stayed blue for at least 30 years thereafter until it was "depainted" using ice and a razor blade.
That is why the gold paint has so many spots of blue, and of course the finish looks pretty tired because it was heavily sanded before the repaint in blue. Which one might say is a type of created patina. Is this an unrestored Cobra? Nope. More accurately, it is an "un-restored" Cobra.

It's a long time ago Ned. I didn't recognize Carter? I thought it was Elvis with the sideburns? Didn't that car get wrecked or at least crashed on the left front by Grossman? The "coupe" is hiding in the barn?

I knew someone that could counterfeit patina on art works. He got out of jail a long time ago and changed his name.