So that was the sound I heard earlier that corresponded to the time of the OP... Heads exploding...
Seriously though, I'm with gimpy. It'd be one thing to chop up an uncommon truck like the HMMWV prototype one member here scored or one of the unarmored Avenger variants that's been sold. However, 998s and 1038s aren't exactly rare and some of them, like it looks like the one in this video was, were probably a c-hair away from getting towed off to the gunnery range to become scrap metal.
This is a debate as old as the stars in the automotive world when it comes to desirable vehicles, whether mods/restomods/chops are sacrilege. I'm sure there are viewers that are steamed at PowerNation's Truck Tech chopping up their Model A for a project or Xtreme Off-Road's hacking up a D90 to stick it on a JK frame with a turbodiesel.
I can appreciate a faithful, date correct restoration just as much as I can appreciate something like this or some other builds I've seen. Both take blood, sweat, tears, and fortune by the owners to make happen and I respect that, whichever way it goes. Thankfully there's room enough in the world for both.
ETA: Did it look like to anyone else they neglected to air down in the sand? And I'll admit, I did cringe a little when they were grinding the rockers on the rocks!