Rust on wheels
#3
I had a Bonneville SSEi with rust on the chrome rims. Every spring I cleaned them with polishing compound to remove the rust followed by a coat of chrome polish. It was tedious and took about an hour per rim, but they looked brand new when they were finished. As for the shift handle, that's very common to have them deteriorate and look nasty. I'd check your local salvage yard or eBay for a replacement.
#5
NOT rubbing compound
Make certain you use POLISHING compound, NOT RUBBING COMPOUND. Rubbing compound is more abrasive and could harm the finish of the rim. Like I said, it is very tedious, but the results were worth the time spent to me. Good luck