Thanks, folks; sounds like cheap parts, or parts out of the ready bin, won't be what this one is about. Assuming Swiss thread BB, and 27" wheels, preliminary research points to a new BB through Sheldon's company, or Phil Wood, and the wheels might give me an excuse to try wheelbuilding for the first time. I like the singlespeed/fixie suggestion; I've got a lonely Campy high-flange front hub with the flat skewer looking for a home, and that with a new high-flange flip-flop might turn out pretty cool.
So, when she arrives, after a good clean/rust abatement session I think she'll take third place at the back of the queue behind the Bob Jackson and the Peugeot PKN, waiting for the **several** hours and few hundred that it's going to take to get it done right ...