California Title question

[Tuna Joe]

Looking for some answers regarding the registering of this 1969 corvette.
I know every state has their own rules and laws, so this is specific to California.
This car was registered in New Hampshire back in 2004 where the PO ordered personalized plates.

No current NH title, but somehow the PO was able to register the car.
But I do have the original title from back when Big Mike Taylor paid off the car in 1972.
The original title is open, meaning Big Mike signed the back relinquishing ownership, but no one else has signed the back of the title to assume ownership.

The guy I’ve used over the years to register my cars is allowed by CA to do VIN verifications on out of state cars. He says he can’t register the car without a title.
I told him I want to keep the original title as part of the documentation.
He says just make high resolution copies and use the old, original title to register the car and it will be an easy process.

Surely folks on here have encountered this problem before with lost titles, etc.

any suggestions on how to handle this? Am I making too much of a big deal about the old original title?

I can’t figure out how multiple people had this car and apparently never registered it.