Well said as usual Jeff. It is nice to know in this hobby there is room enough for all. 6S281 had a bit of a tough life over the years, partly due to me as a 17 year old beating the hell out of the poor car in the 70s after inheriting it from my 23 year old brother in 1974, Thankfully it survived me.
Chasing parts and date codes is definitely as Bob said a rabbit hole, But to me it’s worth going as far and as deep down the rabbit hole as I can or justify financially. One of the most rewarding parts for me is the amazing history and facts I’ve learned about 66 Shelbys and specifically early non-carryover 66 cars from some very wise, helpful and patient members of this forum. I also get great satisfaction out of tracking down the CORRECT parts for my car as much as is possible.
I have made up my mind that when I do find the CORRECT parts for my car, date codes and condition, I will buy them if at all possible. Fortunately I have found almost everything I need to begin the restoration of 6S281, hopefully very soon. Even though many of these really nice CORRECT parts may not benefit my car in division two Concours as Bob says, it is still worth the attempt and effort to me. I want my car to be the best Division II car I can make it. I will be using brand new Koni shocks and new reproduction Goodyear blue dots, but I would not be interested in spending a lot of money on parts that were obviously the wrong date codes for my car, i’d rather wait, be patient and eventually track down the CORRECT things with CORRECT date codes that belong on my car wether it makes sense in division two or not. I think the goal of all of this hard work and effort we do is about a lot more than whether it helps in a particular Concours division or not. It is purely about the pride of the accomplishment and continuing to improve the cars and the hobby, IMHO.