[51504bat]

Thanks for all the replies. The car is a pretty solid runner but has had some poor quality rust repair just above the splash apron on the driver side in front of the rear fender. Not sure what surprises may lurk under the vinyl top. As far as lifting the body, I doubt the seller will be willing to do that. The re- stamping the engine number is a non starter. If the frame number matches the pink slip the ideal way to resolve this would be to have a DMV assigned vin plate attached to the body so the number would be easily visible and any future engine changes wouldn't be an issue. Even if the seller would lower the price because of the ID issue I'm not sure I want to risk thousands on something I might not be able to prove I own.