Originally Posted by
bikemig
This is all good advice. The bike is an '83 and the component group is good on this bike. Other than replacing the consumables and overhauling the bike, I wouldn't change much on that bike if it were mine. I would get rid of the bar tape, find some hoods for the brake levers, and replace the downtube levers with suntour bar end shifters.
I'm sure the existing shifters work fine for what they are and while I absolutely agree with you that bar end shifters would be better than downtube shifters the only reason to do so here would be if the OP (like you and i) hates downtube shifters and loves bar ends.