I have a car that was a shell and did not have one single screw or bolt left on it. Literally. The floors were all gone, I mean not there, front to back. It had a vin, fender tag and broadcast sheet. Because Mopar people are the way they are, I figured it might be out there. I was right. I put an ad on Kijiji looking. The guy who parted the car out 20 years previous still had it. I got my 1971 HP 383 back, 30 over, balanced and blueprinted, assembled and painted, including the restored original dual snorkel air breather, for the sum of the parts and machining. He was more than happy to reunite the engine with the car.
It can and does happen.
Good luck to you. Many of these engines were removed because of what they are, not just because they were blown up.
