The body, or framework, of the vehicle (7)
I believe the answer is:
carcase
'the body' is the definition.
(carcase is a kind of body)
'framework of the vehicle' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'framework' could be 'case' (case is a kind of framework) and 'case' is located in the answer.
'vehicle' could be 'car' (car is a kind of vehicle) and 'car' is present in the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'or' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for carcase that I've seen before include "remains" , "Corpse" , "Dead body of an animal" , "Have his - (D L Sayers)" , "Body of dead meat" .)