Originally Posted by kroozer

I'll assume you're a bit more picky than "throw on anything that works".
I try to match components by nationality and vintage. For early 80's you have tons of great choices for a classic road racing or touring bike, that's the easiest vintage of frame to set up as far as I'm concerned. For me, Italian bikes get Italian components, French bikes get French parts, Japanese get Japanese, and any other nationality can be anything. As Repechage sez, it's an expensive way to set up a bike, but if you're careful it's not THAT expensive, plus it's fun and you get exactly what you want.