I bought a 70 Varsity back in 1970. Yours is much nicer than mine.
I'd buy a bike like that. This is part of the learning curve. You have a
nice bike, and you know what you need to learn for the future.

That may have steel wheels. Steel wheels are a thing with me, don't like them.
I'd find some rims on ebay that were fairly old but unused. Match them with either the hubs you have or some newer ones and you will have an even nicer bike.