I am beating my head against the wall on this Mid 80's Benotto build. On one Hand I want to keep completely period correct and go with Super Record but on the other hand going 2007 10 speed Record with friction shifters is a very attractive thought. Anyone else gone full period correctness with the exception of the Derailers and wheel's? Were you happy with the outcome? I do have my latest greatest carbon bike so maybe going 10speed on the Benotto is just repetitive and I really don't need it.......Just ignore me ....I am talking out loud to myself again

If I were you, I'd do one of each.

I like my wife, kids and house thank you very much......

If you want to keep the down tube friction shifters I can't think of any reason to spring for new stuff or 10 speed. There are tons of great used 8 or 9 speed shifters out there that will work great for much less money. I just built an older touring bike with friction dt shifters and I went with a nos set of early 90s shimano xt shifters (triple) and they are amazing. Believe it or not the difference between 8 and 10 speed is very little especially if you are not using brifters on a fast club ride. Also, and importantly, consider the rear spacing. Spreading the rear more than 5mm can cause alignment problems at the dropouts and result in a broken or bent hub axle and even if you spread it to 135 from 126 successfully (for example) you still may not have enough space to use that 10th gear.

I suggest a clean set of vintage 8 speed derailleurs to go with the friction shifting. You will have a blast as well as a better riding and safer bike (not to mention aesthetics).

I like swen0171's idea. You can also try Sheldon's idea of using 9-speed spacing with 8 cogs, to fit a 128mm dropout width.

The latest derailleurs, engineered for index shifting, often deliberately have more lateral slop in the jockey roller than older designs. If I were going for best possible performance with friction shifters, I would consider a top-of-the-line ca. 1980 SunTour rear derailleur, perhaps with an NR front.

2006 or earlier alloy Campy Veloce/Centaur 10 speed. Can be had relatively cheap, runs smooth as silk, looks great on vintage steel. And I'll bet the vintage SR will cost about as much.

Vintage Italian steel with an updated drivetrain. MMMmmmmmmmmmmmmm...........

Try it, you'll never look back. You know you want to........

I DO, I DO.....It just seems like sacralige somehow. That and I am not crazy about resetting the frame spacing on such a nice frame.