I had more or less successfully gotten index shifting to work on my wife's Peugeot with a Suntour Freewheel. It was a little finicky when on the large chain ring, but it worked.

Based on the recommendations of some folks here and that fact that is was so cheap ($15), I went out and got a new Shimano 6 speed hyperglide freewheel. Unbelievable difference.

I think it's the best $15 I've ever spent on a bike. I'm thinking of doing the same to my uniglide Peugeot.

I was a little worried about getting the old freewheel off since I didn't have a vice, but a deep-well socket, a large torque wrench, and a stair to wedge the wheel up against made it suprisingly easy.

I had a new chain that was meant for my MTB, so I didn't have to buy one. Problem was I had shortened it for the MTB which made it a couple of links too short for the Peugeot. I had the extra links but ended up with a stiff link every time I tried to add the new ones. After much aggravation I realized that my link removing tool also has a built in feature that can fix stiff links. Worked like a charm.

Anyway, even if you have friction shifters, it's an upgrade I enthusiastically recommend.

Anyone need a Suntour Perfect Freewheel cheap? Comes with a free remover tool ;-)