Haven't seen the 2017 book on Shelby's first dealer but a lengthy excerpt from it in Hemmings might answer the question I have about identity of the Cobra sent Ford to evaluate.
"With Ford finally ready to move forward and possibly finance Shelby’s project, two of Hugus’ Cobras were immediately purchased by Ford for evaluation by their Special Vehicles Team in Dearborn, Michigan. CSX 2003 was inspected and driven by engineers, department heads and even Henry Ford II. Engineers partially dismantled and rebuilt CSX 2004, using updated engineering and as many Ford components as possible. Within weeks of experimenting with CSX 2004, Ford also purchased a third Cobra, CSX 2008, for a second rebuild attempt and a production/design study. That Cobra would be ordered directly from A.C. Cars and paid for by the Ford Motor Company under the first Shelby-Ford financing contract."
Since I haven't seen the book and its pictures don't know if one of those had a plexiglass full width racing windscreen.
Later on the same Hemmings article, it implies Ford tried a fiberglass body but I think that's a grammatical mistake, that they thought of fiberglass but didn't actually build it.
I met Mr. Hugus and he told me at that time he rescued the Cobra project by buying the first few cars and make them road ready himself. He was a no nonsense guy, a WWII combat vet
One puzzling line in the excerpt is the assertion Ford said Shelby had no dealership experience. Maybe they never saw pictures of Carroll Shelby Sports Cars, a dealership that handled several brands including Rolls Royce
Here's the story from Hemmings
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/201...-shelby-cobras