Q. My husband has a classic 1972 Chevrolet Corvette with removable roof panels. It has a body-off-frame restoration and a 1971 LS6 454-cubic-inch V-8 with 425 horsepower and an automatic transmission. He needs garage space to work on another classic. The Corvette is a "non-matching-numbers" car because it lacks an original V-8, but has been driven moderately and become too small for our family. It's fast and fun, with red lacquer paint and red leather. We're asking $20,000, but only got some nibbles when we listed it in a few Corvette publications. Are we asking too much? --C.R., Oak Park

A. No, and here's why: Your car was the last Corvette with front and rear chrome bumpers and has the fabulous 425-horsepower LS6 V-8, which was a costly ($1,221) option for 1971 'Vettes. It thus was ordered for only 188 Corvettes and wasn't available for 1972 models, which had a top rating of 270 horsepower. Corvette fans (and speculators) insisted on all-original "numbers matching" Corvettes during the Corvette buying craze in the late 1980s, but such cars have become scarce and very costly. Also, some turned a non-original 'Vette into an "original" by giving it phony serial numbers. The used Corvette market now is slow because of the general economic slowdown. I'll tell anyone seriously interested in your car to contact you.

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