Here are a few photos of the guitar before I started to to take it apart. The reason I thought it was a 1954 was mainly because of the truss rod adjustment nut at the headstock, so, now I'm not sure.
The previous owner was quite talented at DYI repairs and upgrades. The floating pickup arrangement, mounted to the homemade pickguard, was well done by someone who knew their way around tools and fabrication of small delicate parts; and I really appreciated the care that was taken to duplicate the original pickguard profile (which I have already used to fabricated a copy profiling jig, so that I can make a new pickguard from a more period correct material). So...do you think the fretboard has already been off in order to install an aftermarket truss rod? If it was, it was really done well. No scarring, do dings or dents; the finish is almost perfect at the board/neck joint. (note: the truss rod, brass hex nut is a modern, Gibson style, it is cone shaped with 5/16" wrench size, with not much tarnish or signs of age).