One of the most enjoyable bikes I've had pass through my hands was an absolute frankenbike based on a 90s Specialized Crossroads frame. I built it up with steel 27"s, junk cantis, a long cage V

GT rear mech and 5 speed indexed thumb shifters I robbed of an old Roadmaster BSO. Used cables and housing, mismatched tires, everything about the bike should have been bad, but it was just a blast to ride.

Thinking of doing something similar with a basically stripped Schwinn Crisscross I got, going to rob the wheels to swap onto a better Crisscross I'm building and was going to rebuild this one with the gear of a Le Tour II. Friction stem shifters, 27s, drops.

Have any of you done anything similar?