I would most definitely keep the original color. The only way to change the color without taking away from the car would be to TOTALLY break down the car, paint EVERYTHING including engine compartment, trunk, sills, etc. then put it back together. Anything less would not do the car justice as rather than looking restored it would look cheap. I have just restored an MGB that was originally brown, not my first or even second pick. However in order to maintain both appearance and value the car has been painted factory spec brown again. And yes, the car had been taken apart just short of removing the engine and windshield so as not to tape anything and to have it look like new rather than like it was just painted.
Mars