Cracking open a PSA slab?

[dgo71]

I have my eye on a really nice vintage 3x5 that is PSA slabbed. The only caviat is that I would much prefer to matte the 3x5 into a nicer piece with a photo. I guess I have a two-pronged question.

1) Would there be an option of matting the item and leaving the slab intact? I guess a shallow shadowbox might work, but I have very little matting experience and don't know if such a thing is possible.

And more to the point of this post:
2) What is the general opinion of just breaking open the slab? Is that considered "taboo?"

I should note that I have no intentions of reselling the item, and I imagine if I did break it out and decided later to resell I could always pay to have it re-certed. Just looking for opinions from some of the more advanced collectors who deal with vintage stuff more often than I do.

Any insight is much appreciated!