Dwayne,

Sorry to hear about your friend. I understand a little bit about the labor of love that you're embarking upon. My Uncle, who owned a successful bicycle shop, passed away when he was 41. He was the kind of person that nobody ever had a bad word to say about. I inherited his old Raleigh Superbe (the 3-speed), after a couple years of benign neglect - and after adding a few years of my own, I decided I needed to honor him a bit better than I had.

Before you get really deep into this project, if you haven't already, make sure that the stem and the seat post can both be moved, it might be worth it to check. Even bikes that are left in the weather in relatively dry climates can have these parts frozen into place in a couple years. I applaud your enthusiasm with the project, but if you find these parts immoveably stuck, you'll get part way through and become very, very frustrated. If that's the case, it might be more satisfying to channel your respects for him in another direction.

Wishing you the best,

Z