AMT Shelby Cobra 289 questions

I've received the 1/25 AMT 289 kit (#38426 in the Classic series) which I think is the most recent AMT re-issue. The kit is actually a Cobra 260 street version with wire wheels. But has some extra parts (scoop, mag-wheels, tonneau, racing windshield, etc) to make an early competition version. The wire wheels are bad, but other than that the kit seem quite nice, the body need about the same amount of sanding as the Revell 427 kit, which is quite a lot though, but the overall shape looks nice :)

The AMT kit also included a strange hardtop that goes all the way down to the trunk handle. It's not the "Le Mans" hardtop nor the "regular" Cobra hardtop, so I wonder if this is a fictional hardtop or if it's based on any actual Cobra hardtop's?

I'd like to replicate "Ford viking blue" and wonder if Tamiya TS-58 (Pearl Light Blue) is the right choice, and if it needs to be over a light or dark base color?

Have not decided whether to make a street or competition car, but if I go for the early 260 street look, which P/E wire wheels should I look for? Would any of the KA wire wheel kits for the F250 GTO or TR be suitable? I'm more concerned about size than exact spoke pattern though.

Here is a pic of the strange AMT hardtop VS the "Le mans hardtop" in the background pic.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-sKOaoYPoGSw/TfQPnRjohrI/AAAAAAAAATQ/DN8wPjca79Q/s800/CIMG2497_1024.jpg

Has anyone seen a hardtop like this on a real Cobra before?

And here is the Revell 1/24 Cobra 427 body compared to the AMT 1/25 Cobra 260/289 body. The size difference was a bit bigger than what I hoped for as I plan to display them together when finished.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2XUOMNaXnSg/TfQSRtSUFKI/AAAAAAAAATs/5xKxHl92Opk/s800/CIMG2499_1024.jpg

The Revell body has been sanded down heavy (removing emblems) and panel lines re-scribed, whilst the AMT body is still untouched.

Does anyone have any experience with the 1/25 scale kits from Academy or Sunny (old Japanese kit). Is the basic body shape and size on these a good match with the AMT? The current "idea" is to display an early 260 street Cobra together with a late 427 S/C to show how the Cobra developed from an elegant roadster to a brutal track car. I'm hoping to find a 427 body that is closer in scale to the AMT than the Revell is.

Edit: Forget the Academy and Sunny kits, just found pics that show both of these have the narrow body and look like AMT copies (or vice versa?), I guess I'm stuck with the Revell 427.

356,
If accuracy is paramount to you, there's a lot of work needed on this base kit. The top was not a prototypical one-it's some kind of custom design for the kit. There are many things wrong compared to an original.
The wheel arches and side body contour are most prominent. These were called 'Slabsides' for a reason. The windshield frame is never right on these kits in shape, thickness and angle. Shelbys were 47 Degrees -it's a good starting point but many were modified and raced at 45 degrees.
Best advice is study original CSX 2000 and 3000 series cars. Very few replicas today are completely accurate. If you're not careful, you'll make a model of a poor replica which will look toy-like.
To help you, here is CSX 2045. Study it and you will have a better model.
http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv151/Aframe/csx2045-260CustomMedium.jpg