that's the way things go in used cars sales especially when dealing with flippers.
seller probably bought the car just for the hood.
back in the days when they were almost new cars it was very common to buy a car just for the hemi motor. sometimes install a 440 or just sell the car without a motor.
Amen to that. There is a collector in ND that made a semi serious business of that. Between the gas mileage, the constant maintenance, insurance, winter temperament, etc., the initial thrill of owning a Hemi soon passed and the bloom was off the rose. This guy would approach a Hemi owner and tell them that he would replace the Hemi with something else (318/383/etc.) for no cost to them if he could keep the Hemi motor. Many owners took him up on that and he accumulated quite a collection of Hemis with this approach.
