That sucks. Hate that you have to abandon that. I was going to post some results of rust removal on the chrome fork on my 69 Columbia Mach 1. It was solid rust and now it has a great even shine and tone to it. I did steel wool, then rubbing compound on a rag placed in a power sander, then chrome polish done the same as the rubbing compound. If the 3-spd is functional, then I'd just swap the parts over right quick and be on the road with it