Dorkfish88 expressed it in a nutshell.
And for guns which already have metal components cut off, they've already lost lots of dollar value, and by undergoing more work, have nothing else to lose.
Most Enfields -if you find any- at our gun shows have suffered permanent metal alterations, and my fellow milsurp collectors also never give them a second glance.
Thefabulousfink: You can often buy a good example of the #4/Mk. 1 in the original configuration down south for about $250-300 in a FTF at a gun show etc. In Ft. Worth, you might see three at a single show, along with a really good #4/Mk 2. You seldom see one in the original config. at shows near Memphis.
Most originals have lost a good bit of bluing and have dinged wood, but they are still military rifles, and as most of you know, quite a number have good, even very good bores and can be accurate.
With many of the 2-groove (bore) Longbranch and Savage types, avoiding all BT bullets helps very much.
Most of the #4s built in England have 4 or 5-groove bores: "ROF (F)" and the Maltby, BSA types.