any help and suggestions is greatly appreciated!

i recently got hold of a schwinn grand tourer at a discount store. the bike is still in good shape with some small rust on the frame and some on the wheels. i'm planning to convert this 10 speed to a SS and would defenitely ask some help from all of you down the road (this will be my first SS bike too). I was wondering what is the best way to take the rust off from the wheelset. i'm pretty sure that i will have to see if the wheels are still straight and true. thanks for the help all!

google works great for getting rust off things.
so does the search function here.

if there's rust on the rims that means they're probably steel. i wont tell you they wont work, but even if you clean and true them they wont brake as well as aluminum rims. i bet in new york you can find a decent shape old road wheelset to respace and redish, that's what i'd recommend.

You have steel wheels, which seriously aren't worth saving unless you're trying to build a single speed at the initial cost of the bike. I sometimes pull the spoke nipples off and save them to use as cable crimps, but otherwise, steel wheels better off as recycling than being used on the road.

As others have said, seek out old road wheels. You should be able to find a set for less than $50.

I see. I guess i'd better check on ebay or my lbs if they carry some old wheelset. Hopefully i can get one that has a fix/flip-flop hubs for cheap. Thanks again for your help!

go to the haradware store, get some steel wool (I use the fine stuff), get some tin foil and go to town on the wheels. fists get off as much crap with the steel wool. then use the foil to rub away at the rim like you would with sand paper. The aluminum will stick to any pitted areas and give the whole thing an extra shine.. its cheap but its dirty, just make sure your wheels aren't too far gone.