Originally Posted by
Schreck83
...Pulled the headset apart and the serial number on the fork matches the headtube: GJ805618, indicating a July 1973 build month.
The headbadge also has the date stamp 3449, which is Dec. 15, 1979. That's a 6+ year gap! I guess they thought the boom would last forever.
The Paramount tandem wasn't listed in the 1980 catalog, so this would have been one of the last fillet-brazed tandems produced by Schwinn....
I always found it interesting how the 1970s Tandem serial numbers seem to follow the same pattern used on the 1970s Super Sports, Sports Tourers, and Superiors.
My guess might be that the frame was made as a
spare, warranty replacement in '73. It was not needed until a tandem was ordered by a customer in '79. Because Paramount production ended in Chicago at the end of '79 (prior to the opening of Waterford in 1980), the on-hand tandem frameset was built-up, the badge was stamped, and it was sent to the LBS for the customer who placed the order.
Of course, the above is pure speculation. Richard Schwinn at Waterford might be able to provide more reliable information.