I recently acquired a thirteen-foot Sprint trailer that has no accompanying documentation; no license plate, no registration, no title.

I received a bill of sale on the official Oregon DMV form from the fella in California from whom I got it; he says that he's in possession of a bill of sale from the couple from whom he acquired it a while back and he offers to provide me with a copy of that as well.

Along with their "application for title and registration", I need to submit an official Oregon DVM form titled "certification of ownership facts" -  on the strength of which our bureaucracy  may or MAY NOT issue a title - and I'm trying to gather all of the persuasive information I can get to include with this application.

For all I know, this trailer was sold somewhere like Kansas where it never had a government-issued title or where the original paper trail ended. 

Stamped into the outboard strut of the tongue are the character strings, (upper line) 5*81 and (lower line) E*1*5712. After reviewing the SOI site, I have deciphered this to mean that frame assembly was completed in May of 1981 and the trailer is a 1981 model. Have I deciphered these characters correctly?

I understand that a fire at the Scamp factory or administrative offices destroyed many early records. Is there somewhere else where one could inquire as to the history of a unit that pre-dates the adoption of the 17-character VIN? Oregon DMV will inspect the "VIN" but I doubt that will tell them much of anything.

Does anybody have any insight or experience to share that might help me navigate this process? Can someone think of any document I might include in my registration application packet that would help persuade DMV to award me a title to this gem-in-the-rough?