Classic & Vintage - Fuji Team Restoration

Hello C&V Junkies!

This post is about rust on an old steel frame. I also gave all the sexy details and components for anybody interested. Thanks in advance for your help! I promise to reward y'all with photos of the finished product!:D

Here's the story:
My sister goes to the University of Michigan Law school, and recently found this old gem in the basement of the house she's living in. My main concern if the rust damage on the bike. Around here people thrash their bikes and chain them outside all winter, and the city and U litter salt EVERYWHERE which eats paint for a snack. (Anyone who's ever had rust problems with a car in the midwest knows exactly what I'm talking about.) There are little bits of rust all over this bike, but no cracks, holes, or anything like that. I've been sanding down all the rust with some steel wool, and plan to get more invasive soon here. The plan is to build it back up, and let my sister ride it for a season to see if she really likes it, fit, etc. If she wants to keep it, I'll make her get it repainted, if not, we'll probably sell it, or get a better frame for all of these moderately quality components (very functional!).

Other than cracks in the steel, buldging, paint splinters, dents, is there anything I should look for if I'm concerned about the safety of an old, rusty frame? The worst of the rust is on the unprotected drive-side chainstay, and even that seems superficial. It's mostly just little paint chips and small spots, or bubbles where the rust got under the paint.

EXTRAS:
I disassembled the components and gave them a bath in simple green, put them back together, and they're very smooth and functional. I'm waiting 'till tomorrow to take it to the co-op to overhaul the Headset, bottom bracket, and rear hub (front is perfect).

I've had a hard time finding much information about it, so if anybody wants to get down and dirty, here's the important stuff:
Frame: Fuji "Team" FUJI cro-mo double butted 331 tubing, simple, rounded lugs.
Serial: KE20124
FD: Suntour aRX YC
RD Suntour aRX YB
Brake Levers: Dia-Compe w/ two rows of holes drilled vertically
F&R Brakes: Dia-Compe calipers w/ quickrelease lever "G" in black print on front. Can't see date stamp.
Colorscheme dark brown
Decals: TEAM FUJI on the downtube, FUJI vertically down the seattube, 12 SPEED on the chainstay

I think that the front wheel has been swapped, but everything else seems to be original. Rusty but original. The chrome hedset is shining up nicely!

Thanks again!

Sounds a lot like my Fuji Team. Check out T-Mars thread called Fuji serial number database (or something like that) to get a date for your Team.

I have a 1982 Fuji Team with the same tubing and same decal setup. The original color was brown and it had Ukai gold rims. sound familiar at all? In 1983 they started using quad-butted on the Teams. Nitto stem and handle bars....I am forgetting what else it had....

There were so many rust-snakes under the paint on mine, I stripped the entire thing. Underneath the paint it was perfect. I think Fuji just skimped on the paint job at the time. I have bikes from that era that, when I got them, all the components were rusting off, but the frame paint was perfect.

The hubs, BB and headset were all beyond repair on mine as well. The braze-ons were falling off so I ended up powdercoating it blue and converting it to fixed.

It is by far my favorite bike to ride around. It is quick, has great geometry, and is quite a looker too!

Check the interior surfaces of the tubes for rust. If the bike was assembled when found, then internal rust should be minimal and mostly in the areas where the small vent holes for brazing are present.
Permatex makes a great rust neutralizer/converter. Comes in brush-on and spray. It permanently stops the rust process. After drying, it's sandable and can be primed over for painting.