[RodKnock]

Would an owner of an historic car prefer to keep a dented original crossmember piece rather than replace it with a newer piece?

The car was also prepped and run in the Monterey Historics, according to the writeup, and maybe that has something to do with the clamps lines.

Lastly, the owner dictates what is done and what is not done on a car, so it's possible the owner may have wanted something a certain way and the restorer had no choice in the matter.

Just speculating and I'm by no means a mechanic.