pretty much stripped my swift down to the frame and started over. now it has
* drop bars
* road brakes
* 451 wheels
* Tiagra shifters
* Capreo rear hub (seems to yield a higher top gear)
* 105 rear deraileur
* 9-speed cassette
still has campus pedals, CrossRack, toolbag mounted on front end, water bottle dangling from riser, and fenders
pretty happy with the results so far. definitely feels quicker, though I haven't yet had a chance to retrace my daily commute and see how it stacks up. only downer so far is that the road brakes don't grab like the v-brakes used to...need to get some salmon koolstop pads for sure.
took me a few days, which would have gone faster if I had known the first thing about installing cables. buying replacement cables at Walmart was also not smart - all the housing were for brake cables. bent derailleur hanger also cost some time. I still think the 105 derailleur doesn't fit perfectly - will be looking at that soon.
nothing terribly original but thought you might enjoy...