The Berkley is not a bad bike. Even the entry level bikes from Fuji in that era were better than anything you could get at a department store.

If I were going to replace the wheels I would seriously consider these:

http://bikeisland.com/cgi-bin/BKTK_S...ls&ProdID=1824

$99 for two brand new wheels that are 27 inches and will allow you to thread on the freewheel you already have. I've bought a couple of sets of wheels from them to turn cheap 27-inch 10-speeds into cheap 700c 10-speeds and they have put up with all the abuse my 225 lbs can give them summer and winter.

You may be able to find inexpensive alloy wheels at your local bike co-op or used bike shop and if you can, that's great and you should be able to get them for half that price.

You might need to pop for a tool to remove the freewheel -- this is where the local bike co-op comes in handy again! If you wander in there with that bike and tell them your plans they will think that is the greatest and be really helpful. But be careful. The place is probably crawling with hippies.