A solid success. Found most of a cruiser in the trash on Tuesday. Rounded it off with a new seat, new fenders, new inner tubes, and a cargo rack that comfortably holds my panniers.
It's still far from perfect and it's clear that this bike has been treated like shit (I had to break out a ball-peen hammer to straighten and flatten the chain guard) but it should be for the moment a fairly solid around-town errand bike.