I liked it in blue but I love in now!

if I were in your shoes, I would build it with an internal hub and 700c wheels. It will give you plenty of clearance for some killer hammered fenders and like Zach said, tektros work great. I can just see it with porteur bars, a brooks saddle and matching leather tape.

my dreaming aside, your original plans are still very feasible but will take a little more work than a later frame. If it is truly what you want, don't let anyone stop you. A bike doesn't have to make sense to anyone else as long as it fits your wants/needs.

for reference, I recently had a shop (co-op) tell me an 84 Colnago wasn't worth building up because it required an obsolete Italian BB.