That looks like a Terada truss rod neck detail. My Terada made Fernandes Stone Logo Explorer has that detail. Terada was the manufacturer before Tokai and Chushin took over sometime in 78. They moved back to Terada in 1980 it seems. So I'm guessing this is an early Tokai build with a leftover...
Ah cool, I didn't know these came on tokai. They are made by a company called Answer. I knew about them on Washburns with the "Wonderbar" name and sold as standalone units under the Shift 2001 name. They make an adapter to fit onto a les paul using the stop tail studs and sold them as standalone...
Sounds like we need another Serial list... wink wink lol
My orange strat has a date code of Oct 20th, 1976. It's made by Kawai.
Auction pics, no fresh ones unfortunately
I checked the Fernandes Facebook group and one of the knowledgeable admins mentioned Orange was made for less than a year between 76' and early 77'. He mentioned he had Orange branded guitars with serials dating from August 76' to February 77'.
I almost purchased a few ELKs this year because I read that they were trying to make a name for themselves back then. I'm definitely going to get one eventually. Guitar looks great!