First off you had better check the NCIC records for stolen for a start. I would also check each nearby states stolen list and if it is then that car doesn't belong to you... Period.... !!!! Sorry but it is just that simple. You may try to find out who the person that it was stolen from and if they received money from a Insurance Co. and if that is the case you might have a chance of purchacing it from the Insurance Co. They are not hard to work with! Remember $$$$ Talks... Other wise you could loose it two years from now when it is at a car show and the feds walkin and take it as a stolen car or altered Vin. You loose everything you did to it --- PERIOD...!!! If I were you I would recomend that you do your research first before you ever start to spend much $$$ on it.
Years ago, I had a '61 315 hp big gas tank SCCA vette that i sold ('66) and the guy later stripped it of the injector and such and put it in a strip pit somewhere. The worse part is he won't tell me where. It now belongs to some Insurance Co. but he still won't tell me where it went. Boy do I wish I had never got rid of that one. I got a bad case of 396 fever and traded it to him for a 66 SS396 supersport chevelle. Stupidest thing I think I ever did back then. But if I could find it I would have to be very careful as the Insurance co. could come in and claim it after it was all fixed up again and not have to repay me for all my work.
The point that I am trying to make is be very carefull if the Vin tag is off some other car as that is a Federal crime for you to do anything with it..!!!! even if it is the wrong one. In fact it could cause you some trouble just for having it in your possession with the wrong vin plate or one that is altered and not notify the proper authorities.
If they find out, you can loose that car very easy to the feds or some insurance co. Also the original owner that it was stolen from if no insurance co paid off on it may still be the righfull owner and you could loose it two or three years from now and you will loose everything ($$$) you put in it.
Trust me that happened to me on a '69 Z-28 and a '65 Vette in the past. They will walk in and take it from you.... PERIOD...!!!! If you protest you will go too..!!!!
You also have a real problem with it since the original Vin is missing you will not be allowed to reproduce it back to original - legally. Then it will have a state assigned # plate which has no resemblense to the original # and that will kill some of the higher value that the car has.
I just wanted to share some of the things I have ran into over the years with collector vettes that I have bought innocentely when I had a car lot. In fact you could go to jail for hiding it and not reporting it.
So Please be carefull .... I am not so sure that you should post too much on it in a public forum till you find out if you are the rightfull owner... ?? You may be innocent of anything to do with the cars past but you just never know. No mater what? I want to wish you "Good Luck" with it and trust me I am jealious....
Wish it was mine....
Camaro's are my second love next to a Vette.
Feel free to call me if you want to chat more about this.