I have a continental II either 78/79. it was flamboyant red but thanks to wal-mart spray paint its now orange with no defining marks.I wanted to make a descreet commuter out of it but it looked better after the repaint then before. I think part of the upgrades for it were the chrome fork instead of the flat blade fork on the varsity. I pulled the decals off mine and it looks great. also it has the centerpull brakes instead of the sidepulls. I swaped the old steel 27" wheels for some inexpencive(recycled) 700 c and the brakes reached ,no problem. the lighter wheels helped with the weight but not much.
It is a very plush ride,and although I dont ride it as much as my regular everyday bike,I do get it out when the weather is nice. seems ironic, i got it for free from a guy to fix up to ride to work in all types of weather and not worry if it got stolen, and after cleaning it up, I like it so much it got regulated to good weather only.