Hi Mark,
It doesn't appear that the "legal title" is disputable as that was transferred to the new car.
I'm not qualified to pass judgement on the legitimacy of any claim of "originality" by Mr. Gray, I was just joining the conversation as an interested bystander.
However, It would seem to me that, title aside, the old car has a greater claim to "originality" than then new one simply because it includes original parts, which presumably the new car doesn't.
Again, I'm not passing judgement, simply expressing a point of view that may or may not be valid.
Either way, the car I saw looked very nice with a lovely patina.
Paul