Thanks a ton for your feedback supergymnast. Sounds like we are pretty much on the same track with fixing everything up. Yeah I look back and think that if I had taken the option to just buy a newer, less work-required bike, I would've missed out on a ton of frustration for sure, but also learning about stuff. It's been great so far. Today I got my first chemical burn! Ha! Seriously though, I used aircraft stripper to take the paint off today and I am excited to see some physical measure of progress. The remover worked great, and I see that just a little sanding is taking the frame right back to square one, without rust and ready for new paint. Any thoughts from anyone on the condition the frame should be in before priming. The metal gets much smoother after sanding, but I'm not sure if i should rough it up a little so that the primer sticks. My guess is that it will be fine if it's smooth.

Anyway, I attached some photos below of the progress on the frame.

As for the bottom bracket, I still need to grab the appropriate wrench to get enough leverage on the non-drive side cover. The bracket was not sealed, but 2 screw in caps at either end that sandwiched the bearings between the cap and a lip on the axel. Just getting that off has drastically lightened everything. I plan on consulting a bike shop to see what size bottom bracket will fit. I hope everything matches up as there has been a lot of progress it seems in the line of improving b.b. and I want to be able to simply screw in a new one.

Also not too soon to think about a seat and pedals. Anyone have thoughts on a good seat that will fit in with the upgraded vintage vibe the bike will have? Pedal brands? Thanks!!!