I "worked" in a Schwinn LBS in the later 1970s as a kid doing "gofer" stuff and sort of lusted after the LeTours but I have to doubt your friend's memory a little bit. The nicest one we had was a full chrome LeTour 12.2. Sweet bike and it retailed, in a shop that charged top $, for about $450. An early 80s bike wouldn't be too much more. I guess if she had the SunTour or Shimano 600 swapped out for Campy N. Record prior to delivery the price could've been driven up to somewhere near $900 though.

However, if someone chose to double the price of their bike with a component swap you'd think they'd remember the components?

Schwinn started selling LeTours in 1974 or so and for years imported them from Japan, they were made by Panasonic. Nice bikes with either SunTour or Shimano (usually 600) drivetrains and chro-moly frames. A nice one would go about 24#. Pretty respectable when the pros in Europe were riding 21 lbers. Reasonably priced as well. Unfortunately for Schwinn the US market was flooded with similar bikes from Europe and Asia and Schwinn began to lose market.

Back to the point. Sadly, the only way I can see your friend's bike with a $900 original retail is either with a component swap or it's a later '80s bike as prices began to balloon to the current level of today where $1000 gets you a nice "entry level" roadie. In either case the bike won't bring big $ today. If it's got nice Campy she's probably better off parting it out. However, if she maintained it it'll be a nice smooth ride and certainly worth considering if the price is right.

Please check back if you find out more.