Nice work man; I'm doing something similar. My N+1 was a new crosscheck frame/fork (I think about $450 from eBay -- $320 for good shape used LHT frame, fork, and headset seems like a fair deal), and I built it up by stealing everything from a Trek 1000 roadie. Just to get it running, I had to get canti brakes (tektro cr720 were cheap and work great) and a skinnier FD braze-on clamp; I think I was able to use everything else. Oh, front brake cable hanger. The plan is to gradually buy parts for the CrossCheck, and rebuild the Trek until it is sellable, or by then my (now)12-year-old will probably be able to ride it!

My big plan is to swap out the brifters for Retroshift CX2(9sp); That will actually be my next purchase, but at $189 I have to wait a bit and pretend to save up. I'll be all-friction at first, but then I'll look for a 9sp cassette and can use the rear indexing. Next maybe wheels. I already have a Shimano 600 crankset ready, but it's a double and I'm a wimp. I'll have to replace the stem/bars at some point, haven't given much thought to it, but I think I might want to get some kind of funky touring bars -- those plus the retroshift will make for a really head-turning cockpit!