Originally Posted by
SoCaled
Based on Serial # - I believe that would translate to November 1973, 140th bike made?
Yup. Spot on.
Waterford (no longer building frames as of 2023
) was/is run by Richard Schwinn and is the direct descendent of/split-off from pre-bankruptcy Schwinn's Paramount works. The Waterford website is still up and still has a bunch of Paramount information.
This page has the skinny on the various Paramount serial numbering systems over the years. As you will see, the numbers weren't "al over the place" - they were consistent within specific time periods - but they did evolve, mainly in the direction of burying more information in the serial number itself.
Meanwhile, the OP has himself a nice bike. I agree that it probably has been repainted, and it most definitely has been re-decaled with decals from later in the 1970s. Here's a (cropped) photo from Schwinn's 1973 catalog showing the then-current downtube graphics and the side of the set tube that they put on all Paramounts then.
Personally, I wouldn't be too worried about period-correctness and more interested in building it up into a bike that makes me want to ride it, but as many of you know, I am a godless heretic on such things.