I do like me some diamond frame builds. I wanted to build the same thing you described until I figured out the challenges (mechanical and financial) of a teens or twenties bike. The biggest road block was the lack of standard and uniform parts. There were so many manufacturers back then and nobody had really settled on standard size seatposts, bottom brackets, headsets, etc. There were even chains of differing width and pitch, further complicating an use of antique parts.
I decided that a Schwinn Varisty or Continental would be a good alternative since they are cheap and plentiful. I wasn't finding one in the large frame size I needed, but instead came across an early 80s Schwinn Le Tour (which was one of a couple years they built this model in Chicago between the Japanese imports from Panasonic to having Giant build them in Taiwan). I ended up taking this more in the direction of an English style Path Racer, but the stance is somewhat similar to a board tracker. Check out my build if you like and maybe it will give you some ideas:
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=65343
. I found a mismatch pair of 26 inch wheels that I think I will use on it.
