Originally Posted by
farmboy904
...Do you know if there was continuity in the product lineup after the original company was sold in '77?... What I'm wondering is if this was a model the original owners spec'ed before the sale and which was not continued after. Not trying to lead to that conclusion, just trying to find something more definitive either way...
My understanding is that the company was never sold in 1977 but that the bicycle importing operation was severed from the retail and mail order operations to create its own legal (and financial) entity, Sekai Bicycle Company. Both companies were under the control of the Tamura family and the biccycle operation wasn't sold until 1983, when Norco took over for the 1984 model year.
There certainly was design continuity on the road side, though there were a different contractors. In addition to 1977, a number of 1976 models have surfaced using your serial number format.
I'll have to dig the catalogue back out but will post a picture, later.