Good morning, BassMaster. I moved your query, hoping it will get more attention and responses in this section.
I will make a moderately educated guess to get the query going and maybe bring on more exact information. My guess is that it is a trade rod, decal labled by one of the major manufacturers of the time, for a regional sporting goods store, hardware store, or gasoline/general store. It is probably "custom" in that it has a different label and perhaps different hardware or wrappings than the base-branded model.

It could be a very serviceable 8 1/2 model, probably for 7-weight line, as that was a meat and potatoes type of all around fly rod of the time. It was hard to make a bad one, and hard to make a great one, but there were plenty of good ones from a variety of makers.

If, as I am guessing, it is a run of the mill rod, I would be more selective as to what I wanted before driving any distance or spending more than a few dollars on that one in particular. That isn't a knock on the rod, just a heads up that rods of the type are easy to come by.

Of course if I am wrong in speculating about this, I hope someone who knows will say so and give the details.

It is possible that the rod is a custom build from a good shop or small maker. Then the key would be to know what blank the builder used. I am doubtful of this, as opposed to a relabled mass production model, because builders are usually a little more specific in labeling with specs, and creative in naming their customs builds than a generic like "Great Lakes Custom."

A standard production 'glass rod could be a darn good one, but at the time, remember that there was a fear of mass production as an affront to unique specialization and quality, so the word "custom" was thrown into a lot of model names. It usually just meant that it was the custom--good for them--of the maker to produce and sell as many as possible.

I would buy it in a heartbeat, but that's from a guy that loves vintage glass rods and has been known to drive that far for a certain cheeseburger. Besides, the rod tube alone is worth the $20.

had one,had a 1494da on it.paid 10 for it.was a pretty generic rod with basic hardware with a great lakes sticker on it.no line weight or any other info.was kind of heavy and buggy whippish.traded it to a vintage tackle dealer for a box of old poppers.did keep the reel. i think it was red.if they are cheap enough any fly rod has value .some are good rods.some are not but have good reels or good tubes.every one around here thinks fly fishing is for rich dudes,so they assume old fly rods are worth a lot.

Guys ,
Just a follow up on the above mentioned rod. Apparently it didn't get sold ,and the seller reposted it . So I drove to Toledo, Ohio to pick it up and stopped at the Cabela's in Dundee on the way home. The markings were off it so I didn't know the weight of the rod or anything about it. The Fly rod expert looked at it and thought that the blanks were probably "True Temper' and that it was a worthy rod to use for Steelhead or large bass, and that the weight was probably a 7-8. I didn't have the heart to tell him I only paid $10.00 for it and it came with an aluminium case .
Thanks for all of your wonderful advice.. I can't wait to try it out... By the way I did buy some backing and WF Cabela Prestige 7 weight floating line to wind on my new Wetfly Nitrogen I 7/8 reel..... If nothing else the combo looks great.