He says his trusted local mechanic has restored several Euro cars and is willing to do it even after seeing the wreck. Probably not on any sort of tight schedule for completion. I suggest some sort of legal contract so both know what the other expects. And his location is rural PA- not a hotbed of sporty-car ownership. We'll see what actually happens.
True craftsmen are still around in the shadows, most working for fairly low wages because they enjoy playing with cars. I've owned and driven two "splitters' in my lifetime, both done by unknown local metal-wizards better than I at bodywork. Splitter is the name for a pieced together car either the front or back half. Both my cars drove well for decades, even being low-level raced a bit.