68 Chevelle SS, opinions on value please...

[daleone3]

1968 Chevelle SS 396 with orig. drivetrain-complete numbers matching. southern car up to 96 then off to new england but still has all its orig sheetmetal. under car is very very nice, ready for a clean up and detail, interior is also an 8/10 with bucket, console, tach, automatic tran.
Car is red, should be sea mist green so could use paint and some minor patching though nothing extensive. Car runs well, 100k miles, not rebuilt but strong runner. now the question; he is looking for $16500 for the car which seems fair though the 68/69 cars seem to be lagging behing in terms of value. So what would you consider a fair price for this car, I did look at it and it is a great starter but value your opinions.
thanks,
scott.

[Nova Jed]

Oh, gotta love the 68's. Any pics?

[daleone3]

no pics though I did look at it and am on the fence a bit. Likely I would be in the car for $22 after paint and a quick refresh which is fine, see some upside on the car. Is it also true that the engine #s will coincide with the VIN which is the only real way to verify in the absence of paperwork.

[Nova Jed]

Watch out for VIN restamping!

[daleone3]

Jed, do you really think that VIN restamping is a prevelant problem? It would seem that with the 68's lagging in value the focus of anyones efforts to go to the trouble would be with the 70 SS models. I know there are some trim features to look for that I will verify but I think a VIN modification is a more complicated process though I may be wrong. Who knows, maybe there is a build sheet somewhere in the car. is it worthwhile to carfax any of these for title histories or are they lost out there due to age?
So, if it checks out, considering the repaint and aged drivetrain, what would you consider reasonable for a car like this.

[Nova Jed]

Does the car come with any paperwork? POP, original bill of sale, that sort of thing?