The Deore is def. an upgrade. I owned an 83 expedtion and it came speced out with Mountech. The Deore is pretty sought after as well. I sold the frame fork, headset and and BB for $400.00 on Ebay. I still have the stem, Superbe levers, Wobler super champion 700c wheels with specialized hubs. I poached the AT crank for my Franklin build. I still ave the Mountech, but it is pretty much worthless. If you decide to sell it on Ebay you can easily make $600-$700 if you part it out. Mine was in rougher shape than yours.