I agree that if you don't have stainless cables by default, it's
probably not a good idea to go looking for them. There is no such
thing as a completely 'stainless' housing, and most of those 1970's
and 1980's suntour cables today have rusted, and will require hours of
work with a dremel and wire brush, to look better but they will NOT
look NOS.
>From a functional perspective, these are probably the worst cables
ever made, since the 180 degree curve near the handle bars opens them
up so that dust and grit from the bike you're drafting in front of you
can make its way directly into the shifting lines and foul them up.
It would be far better to find 'clear' Casigirhi (sp?) cables (maybe at http://www.yellowjersey.org) and use them, or use modern SIS-type cabling.
Having said all that, if you absolutely positively must restore your bike back to OEM condition, there is an ebay seller from mexico city who has been selling NOS suntour barcons for the past 3 years, about one set every week, complete with original cables, but not normally including the downtube cable stop. He's a completely honest and good guy.
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA, USA