The Hub

So this 46' J-45 came to me at a very very low price as it needs extensive repair. Much that I am confident in, cracks, bridge/bridge plate issues, loose braces and the like. There are however a few points that id like the groups opinions on.

The neck angle is pretty great and theres a good amount of fret, however, at some point in its past, someone shaved down the neck to a dangerous point, and the back of the neck has toms cracks along the truss-rod slot. The neck is otherwise straight, although shoddy in its carve. I wonder if I should fill these cracks with some sort of filler, and recarve and finish the neck, or should I craft a whole new neck. As much as a new neck would yield the most stable and visually appealing result, I think that filling the cracks, sanding out the roughness and cleaning up the carve of the neck and spraying some finish would result in the most value retaining option, being able to keep that script logo would be nice. That being said, im all up for a challenge and would replace the neck if needed.

the second approach question I have is whether or not you would pull the back off the instrument? Ive fixed many a loose brace and such reaching my sausage arms into a guitar, however, with the extent of repairs, and the condition of the finish on the back, I wonder if its worth it to pull the back off to address the repairs and then strip and refin the back. The condition of the finish on the back is atrocious in my opinion. Ive never seen even the potential need to pull the back off an instrument for repair, untill now, and again, am up for the challenge to do this right, but wonder what everyones thoughts would be.