[north]

I believe the legal element only enters the game in a practical sense when there is criminal intent; Stealing a nice car then swapping in salvage tags to conceal the true identity of the stolen car or inversely doing a body swap on a high value car and telling a buyer that the car is an original virgin.

Besides where is the line drawn? is using a LeMans bodyshell to restore a Judge OK? Is using all kinds of repro and used body panels etc any different?

Personally if I had the choice of having a RA IV Judge that;

1...had had its rotten and/or accidented body replaced with a leMans bodyshell
or
2...the original body with new quarters, trunklid, trunk pan, wheel tubs, floorpans, cowl, doors and fenders etc being a mixmash of repro and used stuff all patched and welded together

I would take the former in a heartbeat. a rotted car all welded back together is a rotted car welded all back together. At the end of the day neither will ever be a virgin car so the question is how to best restore it, I'd rather have a factory built body (even if it's the "wrong" one) as compared to a homemade hodgepodge of rotten factory steel, bondo, Taiwan tin and scrapyard bits and pieces.

just my 2 cents! Besides I prefer to have nice original cars where the value is in the original condition instead of being in the desirability. (i.e. a minty LeMans instead of a rebodied Judge.)

[north]

In most states and provinces salvage title refers to damage, not only collision but any major damage, major rust is major damage.