[Canuck]

I had good success tracing the ownership of my 1960 Chrysler 300F. See story

http://www.chrysler300club.com/stories/martin/300f.html

I used several people finder options on the internet. Tracing history is a little more difficult nowadays as many states have adopted privacy laws that prevent these searches.
I also traced the ownership of my 1972 Hurst Olds Convert by contacting each state where the car had been previously registered (owners manual started the first clue as it had the original selling dealer info) prepare to spend time on the phone and persistance will pay off. Some states such as Michigan do not keep records beyond 10 years.