This is my wife's 47cm Sequoia made in 1981. This one was different from most at the time in that the frame was so small, there were no lugs on the head tube, so this part was fillet brazed. The following is other historical information I found about this frame. This particular model has fluted seat stays which indicates it is not a Konno made bike, all of the early Kono bikes have direct attach (fastback) seat stays. I checked with Toyo, they used a letter in their serial number so not a Toyo built bike. The other 2 early companies were producing frames for Specialized is, Miki Seisakusho and Shin Nomura, Shin was beginning production of the Stumpjumper during this time, so Miki was the probable manufacturer. The folks at Toyo told me the fork was probably made by Tange, there is no Tange stamp on the tube like a 1981 Schwinn LeTour I have.

The first Sequoias were built in early 1981 at the San Rensho factory, and were designed with a  sports touring geometry.  There are some internet statements that state it started as a touring bicycle, they were never a touring frame, this is what I got from Tim Neenan directly. Tim Neenan designed the first Sequoia's as well as the original Allez, Expedition & Stumpjumper, his name is on the chain stay. Those first Sequoias are hand built, and are very rare. The original color is a deeper blue paint color than the later blue Sequoias.

Here is a picture link to Mike Sinards orginal Sequoia: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10703870@N06/4933429770/