i had a conversation with a federal agent about this cowl deal .he said the most important body # is the cowl then the core and last is the lay persons tag or vin .if an agent walks in my shop and sees a missing # im in trouble ,but if the vin can be removed by bolt on like dash frame removal no problem. if cutting is involved well guess what big problems .when you cut the old cowl out leave the cowl #s atached by cutting from the glass chanel down to the vin and never remove from the car more work but legal. theres still a problem the first thing i look at when buying a e body is i run my hand along the back side of the cowl and also use a mirror looking for welds that stops me cold .so take pics of your work and good luck .c