After riding my Bianchi Pista religiously for a year, i finally succumbed to the urge to try and do a conversion.--that, and i needed another excuse to spend money on bikes As i've said mutiple times here, my mechanical skills are very limited, so i could use some help. Today i came across a Schwinn Caliente at a rummage sale for $12--it looked in pretty good condition and had horizontal drops, so i went for it. Although the bike is black, i intend to rattle can it to cover up some paint stratches (it had a child seat bolted to it) and to outline the lugs. My first question is how the hell to i take off the chain rings and crank arms? Next, the bike had the bottom kickstand plate welded to the frame---any easy way to get this off, or shouldi just leave it on?

My next major question realtes to the dropout spacing---its 130ish---i intend to use my old wheelset from my pista (120)--so, i am assuming i will need to buy a longer axle for my old pista rear wheel, right?

Any other begineers tips so i don't kill myself or waste too much moohla would be appreciated-


--if this is a crappy bike to make into a conversion, I'll junk it---it was only $12--just say so.