Okay, I went to look at the bike. My thinking going into it was that if even the main triangle is cro-moly and the bike isn't trashed, I'll buy it. When the guy rolled it out I knew instantly I was going to buy it....cro-moly or not. This thing is exactly what I think of when I think "vintage mtb" and it's so like the old photos I drool over I had to have it.

Surprisingly (based on what's visible in the photo), it's a Takara Highlander. The only sticker on the seat tube is "Made in Japan". The three main tubes ring when flicked with a finger nail so they might well be cro-moly but I won't be surprised if they turn out to be hi-ten. The bi-plane fork isn't really bi-plane, the space between is solid so it's just cast to have the outline of a bi-plane fork.

The components I can ID:

Suntour Thumbshifters
Dia-Compe brakes/levers
Suntour Mountech derailleurs
6-speed cassette/freewheel
Tourney GS crankset
SR MTE-100 seatpost (only about 7" long).
SR MTS-100 stem (one of those funky 4-bolt bullmoose style stems).

Anyone know any specifics on the bike? Bottom of the barrel Takara? Middle of the Road? Top of the Line?