Danhedonia

You guys are great. FWIW, the mech guy is less than 5 years into being a pro mech - this business is his retirement 'hobby' and it took off. I'm still in the 'getting to know you' phase with him. But New Mexico certainly harbors weirdos, and as we all know that definitely includes wrenches with a soft spot for vintage bikes. (He is not a weirdo, just saying there's a bike culture here) Friend of a friend runs the ABQ Bike Coop, so there's help around.

The question really is "what can I do myself, that doesn't require physical strain or an experienced touch?" Because removing that bizarrely collapsed seatpost was a son of a *****, today. Finally got it out ... yeesh. That was work.
I never thought yanking out a seatpost would feel like "enough work on that for today." But it did. BTW, someone save me if WD-40 is the wrong substance to use, because that's what I'm using on bolts.

Next up: brake removal. Right? And then derailleurs? Wires, hangers and all?

Like to leave the BB 'til last, and bring it to someone.

davester

I'll add my voice to the choir of not repainting. To get the reflective tape off, just carefully work at it with fingernails, a plastic scraper, and applying "Goo Gone" from the hardware store to remove the glue holding it on. After you're done, wash it and get yourself some Meguiars Ultimate Polish and Meguiars Ultimate Wax from the auto parts store. Polish the paint (being careful not to destroy the original decals), then do any touch up you want to do and finish it off with wax. I'm sure it'll sparkle when you're done. Also get some simichrome polish for the aluminum parts. If there's any deep rust that the polish or simichrome doesn't take care of then go back to the hardware store and get yourself some Evaporust.

Since you have a cartridge BB, probably the only maintenance needed is regreasing and adjusting the hubs and headset, lubing the chain and freewheel, checking the amount of friction in the brake cables, and replacing the brake pads. Most "real" bike shops can probably do that. Find an old messy bike shop to do it if you're not going to do it yourself...you probably won't get knowledgable mechanics for this work in a Trek or Specialized chain store. The tires look pretty good, though being 14 years old they may be dry-rotted and unsafe. If you're planning any high speed descents I'd definitely replace them no matter how good they look on the outside.

The handlebar-end shifters on the bike were a quite popular upgrade to downtube shifters. I'd keep them if I were you. The brake-lever-integrated shifters you referred to (we call them "brifters" here) are convenient, if delicate, but may not work with your non-indexed drivetrain. They are generally expensive, will definitely be fussier to get working properly and will require regular "tuneups". Perhaps something to think about down the road if you really want them but most folks here are perfectly happy without them.

Edit: Oops, I posted this at the end of page 1, didn't notice there were two more pages of posts. I've mostly repeated things people have already said. Oh well.

Salamandrine 

If, after the pedals and chain are removed, the BB feels like it is spinning smoothly, then you could just leave it and the cranks on. A sealed BB doesn't need maintenance, and there's not much point to removing it or the crankset to clean or whatever. If you want to repaint, then obviously it needs to come out. If the BB feels crunchy when you spin the cranks, then it's shot and needs to be replaced.

Always be wary of bringing a vintage Stronglight crankset to a bike shop. If they aren't familiar with the old bike boom stuff, french cranks can easily be destroyed permanently be using the wrong puller.

Charles Wahl

Ah, Good Catch, Salamandrine! For the OP: "normal" (meaning most) cranks of this type take a 22 x 1 mm threaded remover, but TA takes 23 x 1 and Stronglight until '82 or so takes 23.35 x 1. And if you use the wrong one, you ruin the crank arm, and have a rough day getting it off, too.

Danhedonia

One thing I can say is that the mechanic down the road is an incredibly good listener - all I'd have to do is mention the different crank size and he'd understand. I don't know him well (yet), but I can already attest that he is an extremely conscientious person. And thanks to this thread, I am aware of the issue.

Yeah, I just need to figure out safe ways to remove brakes and derailleurs, and then spend some time on the cosmetics of the frame. Salamandrine many thanks to you for pointing out that if I only retouch and the BB is good, I don't need to touch it. I last rode this bike in 2005 and there were no issues whatsoever. We'll see.

New tilt to goal: maybe my dad should be the one to ride this when it's ready.

Classtime 

Your plan(s) sound great. I had a bit of pitting on the races of my bottom bracket and headset of my '69 PX-10 and after a good cleaning and new grease, they both were spinning nicely. I get a kick out of using as many original pieces as possible and hate the new fangled consumable/disposable bottom brackets and headsets.
"Liquid Wrench" is pretty effective at loosening up old fasteners. Before you go about removing the bits and pieces, put a drop or two on the fasteners and wait an hour or a day or more before putting a wrench or screwdriver on them. Put a drop on each end of each spoke nipple too. Then whenever you get around to messing with your wheels, more of the nipples will turn more easily.
(PB Blaster also works.