One of you is poised to go to alloy rims. They are lighter and make for better braking, compared to the Rigida steels. Your buddy is halfway there with a front alloy 700C rim. Many bikes of the 27" era have been switched to 700C. Will his front and rear brake pads go about 4mm lower, and so work with 700C rims? You could help him find a 700C rear wheel or rim. If wheel, probably 120mm between the rear dropouts. If his rear hub is OK, a new or used alloy rim. Then you can restore and keep intact that unusual Baycrest.

I recently got a 1996 Klein with a damaged rim. Found a replacement wheel on ebay but not a rim. So I bought that wheel and used that rim to replace the damaged one. Good similar luck to you guys!