dura ace 8 speed down tube shifters, 7402 etc

hi , I have a late 80's dura ace 8sis rear derailleur that I need some shifters for. ive been told only 8 speed will work, although others think differently so I'm after 8 speed first, series 7401, 7402, 7403, 7410 to match my 7402 rear. thankyou!

I have a pair - slightly ratty though, and on close inspection one of the little rings inside has a tab broken off. I've not tested to see how much of an issue that is, but if you're interested I can try and find out?

Isn't 7401 7 speed?
I had a 7402 set up and used friction as I always do. It is a personal choice but I much prefer it for fine tuning and sweeping changes - and almost any shifter will work.

thanks but my frame is quite shiny so after a cleaner pair really, but thankyou anyway!

I'm not sure, I've had various answers that 7s shifters wont work with my 8sis marked rear 7402 derailleur, but others have said it will ! confused! So if I used friction setting you think it doesn't matter about the 7 or 8 speed?!?!?

The usual logic is that derailleurs are "dumb", so will do whatever the shifters tell them to do. Provided it has enough range. Therefore, I suspect 7-speed should work.

I also have a 6-speed pair of shifters (in nicer nick).

ah right, so probably more important the shifter match the cassette? I don't know?!?!

Yeah, very much so. Running the shifter on friction mode takes the guesswork out of the whole affair because you control how much the shifter moves (and in turn how much cable is pulled).

You prob cannot use 7 speed indexed as indexed on 8 speed and Shimano also had a different 'pull' on some shifters/mechs in index so that the distance the cable was moved by the shifters did not match the required distance at the rear.(see Sheldon Brown)
With friction any shifter (within reason) will operate prrfectly. You can fine tune to perfect alignment and smoothly shift through the sprockets in one go.
I have always used friction and have run 7 , 8 and 9 speed levers with anything from 11 speed block to 8 speed with only 4 sprockets fitted.
Also you can interchange Campag , Shimano , etc etc as you like.