thanks for confirming my suspicions that it was no big deal, I decided to stick with the original wheelset, in the light of day the rusty spokes arn't all that noticible and the rims are still nice and shiny. I don't think the bike was heavily used at all, all the damage/problems on it seemed to stem from the fact that it hadn't been used. I'll save the aluminum wheels for a bike that really needs them. managed to get this one in good working order for about 20 bucks in parts, the majority of which was cables and bar tape, plus some old brake levers (I dont build bikes with suicide levers) and a sleeker shifter.