Actually the wooden bodyframe is surprisingly resilient. I know someone who managed to bend the entire car at Doune hillclimb by going well off track and vaulting a stone wall.
Without separating the body from the chassis, the entire car was put on a jig and the chassis realigned. When the chassis was done, the bodyframe actually came back with it, and most of the panel work too. You'd not do that without a steel chassis and a wooden bodyframe.
Damage that would cause a modern car, or even an Aero derivative to be scrapped is often repairable on a trad.
