[al8apex]

gone with an asterisk denoting what happened to it IMHO

cars have been "rebodied" for ages and all for $$$$$$$

some people cut down Model A coupes to make trucks, others cut down truck to make tractors

and still others have taken a "homely" Duesenberg sedan and changed it into a speedster

wrecked or otherwise damaged vehicles have always been resurrected in some way or another since the dawn of time

HOWEVER:

IT IS ILLEGAL to take numbers off one body and add it to another, but that has also been done for decades. You have a wrecked car with a good drivetrain, simply swap it into another that is worn out

IT IS ILLEGAL to "swap" vin numbers yet MANY MANY cars have had this done, some in an effort to make a stolen car "legal" others to take a badly damaged (wrecked, burned, etc) car "whole" again while retaining the VIN/ownership papers