Is there any way to find the VIN# of a car that was once registered in California.

[mdaniels]

We would like to find a car that was in the family for several years.It was not a supercar but it was special to us.
It was owned by my uncle who then sold it to his cousin who had it for awhile,then due to financial hardship it had a forsale sign put in the window and it was set in the front yard. It sold in about a week.
This was in approx 1980-81.
we have looked for old pics with tag#s or old registration cards but have not had any luck. I was wondering if we had his name researched at the DMV if they would have a history of cars he owned then we could get the VIN and locate the car for a possible purchase.