I've been on railfan forums since when the R38s were still in service and this is the first time I'm hearing about this. I don't think railfans had access to people who make those type of decisions back then. Even today, only thing you can do is ask the NYCT Subway Twitter account which probably has a intern tweeting/answering tweets, not people who decide what subway gets saved or scrapped.
These redbirds will probably stay in work service until the R62/A's retire, then they could use the stainless steels bodies of the 62s as rider cars, de icers, etc.