after carefully reading your posts I came to the conclusion that you were on a mission. before I get started let me say that I am not a big fan of the representation of the show. that being said I believe you have not thought threw what some of your questions insinuate. first the car was not stolen (I think) so there would be no vin change for fraud, second I don't think that it was insurance job ( which brings another scenario )so the car was not deemed unsafe or rebuildable by insurance standards, it was or is under the care of a private individual or the assigned repair facility for owner instructed repairs. That ends a short answer for part one.

part 2: the insurance industry has done a lot worse repairing cars by splicing the front or rear half of one car to another or as you can see on ebay and all over the internet a number of totaled cars ( which is supposed to mean its unsafe to repair. but that has now changed to not financially feasible to repair according to value of the vehicle .)the Insurance industry is nothing more than a business trying to control their losses a maximizing their profits. not safety or legal issues with vin numbers. that is short version of number two.

part 3 : The most important part for all of us who own any collectible cars from Duisenberg's to Dodges. what about all the enthusiasts over the years from back in 30's till now that have scavenged parts from old wrecks or salvaged yards to save their vehicle and all the antiques from the past. I can easily see how someone pushing those questions towards some type of regulation that would end it all for all of us. because no matter how noble your reason is once Uncle Sam gets involved he will screw it up for all of us.