"Beautiful. I'd have no problems with adding shifter bosses, getting the fork and rear brake bridge drilled for recessed brakes, getting it repainted, and then ride the hell out of it.
Pete "
The above is a response from Mudboy about the Eisentraut garage sale find. I am one of the people that usually screams "don't even repaint it" but am surprised that I went "hmm, that makes sense" to the above. I have a mid 80's Merckx that I am thinking of adding fender eyelets and maybe even frame couplers to...
How far is TOO much for you?
vjp
Anything that involves a drill, a grinder, or a welder of some kind is too much. The one exception is for repairs of course. If something is broken (like a rear dropout), then a repair is required.
If someone wants to do that much work on a bike, then I would consider just looking for a great deal on a modern bike. My basic rule is "Is the modification reversible?". So putting a 2003 Ultegra drivetrain on my 1987 Prologue is fine with me. To me, it doesn't matter where you got it. Suppose you got a Waterford Paramount at a thrift store for $10.