225 with the head left off for a year... can it be saved?!

I would remove the rust as @my68barracuda outlined and have at it. It's always easy to spend somebody else's money. What the heck do you think happens to cylinders in an engine that sits 20 or 30 years? People resurrect those all the time. Find a GOOD penetrating oil, (Seafoam Deep Creep is great) spray it down and do the dingleberry hone. Clean it all up good when done. That joker will come out fine.