I also believe that the model and trim that a car was when it was ordered is what the vehicle is. If a part or some of it is missing 40 years later it is still the same model it just is missing the parts that it originally born with. Names like "
GT" or "SRT" etc have been used for years to identify higher optioned vehicles, just because a part of them has been removed doesn't make them a lesser trimmed package.

I have seen hundreds of birds on ebay and on here identified as "400" because they have a 400 block and snorkel hood but described as originally a "350" with engine swap. Its the same thing it was never a "400" car. This is an HO car just not numbers matched. You still have a chance to make this an original car if you got lucky and found the correct motor. The guy with the "350" car could never make his a true "400" car. This is the difference!