Oh no... find out if you can keep the original motor... resale value and collectibility will drop significantly without the original motor..
@UtahJoe would you concur?
Edit - or maybe a select set of dealers have mechanics with the abikity to work on those motors rather than do a full motor swap.
no its being done by ford, and its the exact same motor....and Rick's car isnt a wrapper car...meaning he drives it so maybe one days its not going to be worth what an untouched 517 mile original car might be, but I dont think it would effect its value otherwise....There were tons of shelby hurst GT-350s that had their engines stolen, didnt effect their values much. .And its not like someone at the dealer is doing machine work to the engine...it is a complete engine swap.
Plus, matching number engine/chassis...that wasnt really a ford thing...at least back in the day. My mustang has no VIN number that Id's it to my chassis. Chevy would do that with something like a ls6 chevelle...so that the only way you could know if the car was an original ls6 ss chevelle is by its original engine. My car...any 390 built prior to the build date of my car would qualify as "original"
And I HIGHLY doubt they would let rick keep it as they wouldnt want something that they are replacing as "defective" out in the world.