Originally Posted by
dedhed
This is the kind of bike you get wheels from the local coop or buying a donor bike and using the wheels and whatever else from it that would be an upgrade
Agreed, but co-ops are scarce in a lot of places, and "good" 27" bikes are harder and harder to find on the used market. Whatever you find may not be any different/ better than what's on there now.
Those VM's are probably some of the nicest 27x1-1/4s you can find, and it's a sub-$150 wheelset. You can get under $100 for bolt-ons, with a little looking.
In the end, it's up to the OP to figure out the time, effort, and dollars it's worth investing into this particular bike.