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I did something similar a few years back fixing up an old Schwinn Caliente. The first thing you want to do is clean up the frame thoroughly. Take as many parts off the bike as you're comfortable with. Definitely the wheels, chain, seat, rack, bottle cage. This will help you get into some of the nooks that are easy to overlook when cleaning. If you're going to replace cables and housing, that helps with this as well.

After you've stripped the frame down as far as you're comfortable and cleaned it thoroughly, you should scrape off as much of the rust as you can without further jacking up the paint job, and then resealing with a clear coat. When I did this, I found a black paint pen at an auto parts store that had a scraper for the rust. It worked reasonably well. Then, I recommend spraying Framesaver inside the frame to help slow down any additional rust formation.

If nothing else though, the most important stuff is to make sure your tires, tubes, chain, and brake pads are in good shape.

In terms of parts upgrades, the wheels look older, which means they're heavy. That would probably be the most expensive upgrade, but also the most beneficial. Watch out though, on older bikes, the front and rear forks may not be wide enough for most modern wheels. In that case you need to either look for specialty wheels designed to fit older bikes (I've never actually seen these, but I'm sure someone, somewhere makes them) or cold set the frame.

The seat also looks cheap, but I'd ride on it a bit first to see if it's comfortable. And think about if you like that handlebar setup. Those bars almost certainly aren't original to that bike, and you could switch to drop bars, bullhorns, etc. if you wanted to.

If you haven't noticed yet, you'll see this reference mentioned everywhere. Because it really is that good. It's exactly how I got started with my first build, and I know at least two others that started the same way. You need to know nothing more, and nothing less than what this man has written. I found that even the parts I didn't understand at first, later made sense after building a bicycle. It's wonderful. Next, check and see if there are any community bike shop cooperatives near you. They're bicycle goldmines, and nearly anyone involved will be happy to give you a hand. Most of them are ran by volunteers. If they didn't want to help you, they wouldn't be there. If you have access to a cooperative shop, and read through some Sheldon Brown, building your first bike is going to be awesome.

If you prefer paper references, I would also suggest this. Another very well written, knowledgeable guide for first time builders/tinkerers.

There's a pretty alright book called Pedaling Revolution that's about the changing face of cycling in America.

Bicycle: The History is an excellent book about the history of the bicycle and its place in society.

To be honest there are more good books about racing than anything else.

i had a road bike for 5 years, i still do but its in the garage last 4 weeks, because i bought fixed gear and i ride it everyday. dont have a car or brakes on my bike, and i love it. no freewheel, one less bearing. or you can buy this thing from amazon https://www.amazon.com/Cyclingdeal-Conversion-Shimano-Adaptor-CyclingDeal/dp/B006WRW45O/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1EC3K206TG2I7&keywords=single+speed+conversion+kit+bike&qid=1563848343&s=gateway&sprefix=single+speed+conv%2Caps%2C160&sr=8-2 and take your front derailleur and one of chain rings off

This is the best lock I’ve found:

Abus Granit 640 U-Lock, Black, 6" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N9E50IQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_qTXoDbYWY76J7

I’ve used it for about six years and it’s still good as new.

As far as I know you can do this 2 ways: get a new rear hub which is a single speed or a flip flop hub which has one side for single gear use and one side for fixed gear use, or you can one of those single gear cogs that you mount on to an existing cassette hub it's a converter sort of thing.

Now, there's no need to get a completely new rear wheel, but if you're re-using the rim, you'll have to take it apart to mount a new hub. It's simpler to just get a rim with a single gear hub already installed. Or get the previously mentioned adapter for your cassette.

Overall, I would say it's easier (not cheaper) to get a wheel that's made for single speed use. Also, keep in mind the spacing of your rear-drop outs as different speeds often have different sizes of dropout.

The article didn't say the name of the book. Wtf.

I Googled. https://www.amazon.com/Magnum-Cycling-Photos/dp/0500544573