I have an '84 Takara that I want to change the 10 speed handlebars and shifters to some style of raised upright handlebars and shifters. I'm not even sure it can be done with a 10 speed. I don't know where to start, trying to decide on brand and style. I would like some advice please.

Mountain bike shifters are cheap and work pretty well, often have brake levers integrated.
I'd go that route on the bar of your choice. Mount them inside the grips, adjust the derailleurs, and go from there.

I'm not sure that 2X5 grip shifters or trigger shifters are available. Stem shifters or thumb shifters will work just fine for you. Get appropriate brake levers for it, i.e. not those intended for v-brakes. I'm curious, why the switch?

+1 Mountain bike brake levers often have the wrong brake lever ratio (I almost made that mistake, someone on the list bailed me out). You can buy the right kind of lever, but check with your local shop. Down tube shift levers are the easiest option, you can also buy thumb versions. I took a set off of a Trek 330 a while back, converting it back to drop bars. Reused the parts on another project unfortunately. Also you could use old dia compe brake levers, like you see on Schwinn Suburbans and similar. Find someone with an ample parts bin, and they can probably pull out just what you need.

This is yet another good case for finding a donor bike. I picked up a Schwinn Suburban last week for $8, has the bars and brake levers you would need. I will end up rebuilding the Suburban, as it is actually in good shape.

Here is a Shimano shifter. I don't particularly want this brand, I was only showing you what I had in mind. Is this type of shifter available for a 10 speed? I don't mind paying for a quality shifter setup.

How should I go about choosing a stem?

Do you want index (so callrd 'click') shifting? If not, Rivendell has some bar-mount friction shifters from Falcon (cheaper) to silver (more expensive). Or you can cast lots on e-bay. Shimano did make some 5-speed indexed shifters for low end bikes in the 90's. I am not sure you could even get them anymore. Change over should be easy.

yes, I would rather have indexing.

What drivetrain does the bike currently have?

It a typical 10 speed with 27" wheels, front and rear derailleur, 5 speed freewheel and center pull brakes.

indexing 5 speed shifters will probably be tough to find. If I were you I'd go with bar end shifters or just some cheap thumb shifters (both friction, though) unless you want to change to 7+speeds in the rear.
I have a right 5 speed thumb shifter i can send you.

or you can get both for $5 here
https://www.niagaracycle.com/product_...ducts_id=11971

I do not think they ever made anything beyond mid-range for 5-speed MTB style indexing. Assuming you want to do the work yourself, I would recommend finding a local bike coop, or someone who has older/used parets and try to find a matching set of 5-speed indexed bar shifters. I am not sure an LBS could even get them anymore. They should work fine with your set up so long as your derailuers are in decent shape.

https://www.niagaracycle.com/product_...oducts_id=5004

This is indexed right?

I forgot the fact that I'll have to change the front and rear derailleurs to indexing type.

Although the Takara is a decent bike (my brother has a 75 he bought new), it's really not the best candidate to "upgrade", cost wise.
You might be better off looking for an upright type MB off Craigslist and putting skinny tires on it.

Other than riding my Goldwing, restoring vintage Schwinn road bicycles is my only hobby. The Takara was a freebie and it seem to be a nice bike for what I want it for....cruising around town. I just don't like the 10 speed handlebar setup. Because of a war wound, I can't ride in the typical 10 speed position.

With apologies to all who have seen these pics a million times, I went from here:

To here:

With this stuff:

Salvaged from an old Trek MTB whose frame gave out. Granted, it's friction to friction, but still no biggie.

Personally, I've had rotten experiences with indexed MTB shifters. In my experience, they are not durable. I much prefer thumbies or bar ends.

Hey Big Doofus, what is the brand of your shifter? I may as well try a friction shifter setup with the stock derailleurs to see how I like it with a set of raised upright handlebars.

They're old Suntours. They came off an early '80's Trek and they're slicker'n goose p**p. Sorry that pic's a little blurry.

Definitive answer: you can't index with that freewheel. Even if you could, it wouldn't be worth the time and effort trying to find the right components to make it happen. And frustrating when you think you've found them, and realize it STILL won't work.

If you need to index, get a new rear wheel with a cassette hub, shimano cassette with whatever number of speeds, rear deraiileur with matching number, and MTB trigger shifters kind of like these: https://www.wiggle.co.uk/images/shima...0%20levers.jpg. These shifters say ten speed. That's for ten speeds in the rear, not 10 total. Brake levers separate, long pull.

Otherwise, friction shifting is the only way. The ones suggested from niagra will work, and they are friction. Or you could used a vintage stem shifter setup. Looks like you already have those on your Takara.

Other than downtube, those are your options.

The reason your takara isn't ideal for upgrading to newer indexing drivetrains is primarily because the dropouts most likely require a derailleur hanger to hold the derailleur on, rather than having it thread right in. You can do friction with this setup no problem, but I wouldn't want to try 9 or 10 speed on it. You might make it work, but its less precise in general.

If I'm wrong and the rear derailleur threads right into your drops without using one of these, https://www.bikeparts.com/pimage/BPC109497.jpg, and without a fixing bolt on the inside, then by all means upgrade to 8 speeds on this bike. Just be sure to realign dropouts if you have to spread them for the wider 130mm OLD of most newer rear cassette hubs. Believe it or not, this is not a huge project.

These folk say that there are 10 speed setup for this kind of conversion. Am I reading it wrong?

https://www.paulcomp.com/thumbmtn.html

These folk say that there are 10 speed indexing setups for this kind of conversion. Am I reading it wrong? Why can't I replace the deraillers with ones that index?

https://www.paulcomp.com/thumbmtn.html

those ^ shifters alone are worth more than the bike.

Which ones now?

They are referring to 10-speed as in there are 10 cogs on the rear hub, that's 2x more than what's currently on your Takara.

Your cheapest route is to utilize mountain bike and hybrid components. any MTB brake lever for cantilevers will work with centerpulls. Don't use V-brake/linear brake levers.
I'd spread the triangle to 126mm to use a 7-spd freewheel (indexed). Buy a cheap SRAM or Shimano 7-spd Indexing rear derailleur. They do come with hangers built in.
Hook that up to a set of MTB/hybrid 7-spd shifters. Pick you poison here, grip shift, Shimano rapid fire, thumb, etc.
Mounted on a riser bar. Can also swap the stem to a 1" MTB stem for more rise.
And do change that seat. Your @ss will thank you. A comfy seat makes a world of difference.

BTW, are those 700C wheels? If so, mount the widest tires that will fit on those rims and clear the brakes. They will be more comfortable and less prone to flats and damage. Perfect for a townie bike.