Can we stop with the "It's not original"? Especially on minor options!!!

I see a disturbing trend in car restoration these days. I've touched on it before but I think it's worth re-visiting. I talked to a guy who was restoring a 1970 Plymouth GTX. It was a for-real 440 / 4-speed model. The only downside was it was green with green interior. Yuk. The car was pretty solid-he was going to replace the trunk floor and the rear quarters but that's common on late '60's and early '70's Mopars. Since he was going to have to re-do the interior anyway-I suggested he contact Legendary and do it in either black or white and then paint the car red with black GTX stripes. I also suggested he contact Summitt and Mopar Performance and get a "Six-Pack" setup for it. The answer-Wait for it-"But then it wouldn't be completely original." "Ok." I said. "Let me get this straight". "Your going to spend thousands of dollars restoring the body and interior of this car in a color you can't stand." "Why not paint it a color you like?" "I like red, but if you don't like red, then go blue, or Alpine white, or Plum Crazy or whatever you want." Here comes stupid defensive statement  # 2-wait for it-"But what if I want to sell it?" "What if you do?"  "Let's say you take my advice and go red and black with a six-pack induction." "Do you honestly think a prospective buyer is going to check the serial numbers and say-"Gee, a red 4-speed 440 / Six-Pack GTX has always been my dream car,and this one is beautiful and runs like a scalded cat and the price is reasonable." "But the VIN tag says it was originally a green 4bbl car." "I'm going to have to pass." "Puhleeze." "And if he did, he's an idiot." "I'm sure you'd find another buyer who could overlook the color change and the intake change." "I'm always amazed at how much people care about what some asshole who might want to buy the car down the road will think."  "I've joked about it before but did you marry your wife because you thought she'd give you an easier divorce than other women you dated?" Like talking to the wall. The response? "I'll think about it." I guarantee he'll think about it, and then paint the car fuckin' green, which he hates, because "What if he wants to sell it?"  Some other asshole might say something negative about his restoration!  Oh, Horrors!  I see this all the time, and it always drives me up the wall. Another guy I knew who had a '79 Trans-Am commented on a High-Performance Pontiac article about Dennis Mecham and the "Macho T/A's". "I remember those cars." he said. "A guy I knew in college had one." "It was so badass."  I commented that Mecham had allowed Phoenix Graphics to make the stencils so anyone who was restoring a "Macho" or just liked the look could paint their car in "Macho" Style. I suggested he do his car that way. You know the response. Now if his car was a 10th Anniversary model, I could certainly understand wanting to stay with the factory paint and graphics scheme. But it wasn't. It was a generic one of 117,000 '79 T/A's built, with a 403 Olds engine and a TH350!! I like Pontiacs-so I talk to a lot of Pontiac owners-and it kills me to see people with '70s Firebirds and T/As who like "Honeycomb" or "Snowflake" wheels, but won't put them on their car because the build sheet or the repro window sticker they got from PHS says the car originally had Rally IIs!! Really??  Another guy who had a nice '73 Formula 400 with white interior was distressed because he wanted to remove the vinyl top and paint the car Buccaneer Red, but the window sticker said the car was originally blue with a white vinyl top. Again-"What if he wanted to sell it down the road?" "What would a prospective buyer think?" "A Buccaneer Red Firebird will sell ten times faster than a blue one with a vinyl top". I said. "Trust me." "I spent 30+ years in the used car business". "In fact-not only will it sell quicker red, you'll get more money for it."  Remember my post that said "There's No Used Car Factory" to order from? Well there isn't. So I guarantee you'll get more money for a '69 Malibu with a 350 and a TH350, than you would a 307 and a Powerglide!!  Or a '67 Nova with a 327 and a 4-speed instead of a 283 and a 3-speed!!   Even if it's not "Original".  You'll get way more money for a '68 Road Runner if it's painted "Vitamin C" orange with Ansen or American Racing slot mags than you will if it's brown with "Dog Dish" hubcaps!! Even if it's not "Original."  Would you rather have a sinister triple black 400 or 440 '73 Charger with Cragars on it, or a light tan one with drab brown seats, a white vinyl top and dog-dish hubcaps?"  See what I'm saying? These minor add-ons or color changes increase a car's value, instead of hurting it. So if you want to paint the car a different color, do it!!  Or add or remove a vinyl top, or change wheels. Putting a tri-power setup on a '66 GTO or a '70 Charger will add value, not take it away. Ditto for minor upgrades. If you add later model Monte Carlo spindles, booster and front disc brakes to your '68 SS396 Chevelle that had 4-wheel 9.5 inch drums-any prospective buyer will thank you, not cuss you!!  So go ahead and paint that 383 powered '68 Coronet like a Super Bee!  Call Tony Branda and make that '66 Mustang look like a Shelby if you want. Mastermind