I contacted the seller and he confirmed that it had no chassis numbers in any of the places suggested. In theory, if it had, it could be registered as a new car on a 61 plate (or whatever they're up to now!) and be tax exempt if built by Dec 31 1972! What a nice car that would be! I reckon the DVLA thingy is the way ahead but the car may be then considered to be a replica - effectiveley a car with no original identity but with an age related plate.
I think for much older cars (my father restores pre war MGs) they use a points system whereby a bodyshell may be worth 10 (numbers may not be correct!) points, an engine 5 points etc etc. The idea is that a car needs to get a certain number of points to be entitled to the original identity that the owner may be claiming. If this cannot be done, the car is considered to be a replica with an age related plate and is worth about half as much as an "original" which has passed the points system.
I think for much older cars (my father restores pre war MGs) they use a points system whereby a bodyshell may be worth 10 (numbers may not be correct!) points, an engine 5 points etc etc. The idea is that a car needs to get a certain number of points to be entitled to the original identity that the owner may be claiming. If this cannot be done, the car is considered to be a replica with an age related plate and is worth about half as much as an "original" which has passed the points system.