I'm mostly interested in the threadless conversion to put in new bars and a more aggressive/lighter stem.

Sheldon has a bit on converting the stem:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/velos.html#handlebar

"

French stems are .2mm narrower where they fit into the steering column. A standard 7/8" / 22.2mm stem won't usually fit. In many cases, the limiting factor for fitting the stem in will be the headset locknut, rather than the steerer itself. Try removing the locknut before sanding down a stem. If the headset locknut is slightly tighter than the steerer, it can be enlarged easily with a small grinding wheel.
In cases where the stem really won't fit into the steerer, a few minutes work on the stem with sandpaper will usually do the trick. Wrap the sandpaper around the stem, grip it with your hand, and turn the stem round and round until it fits. You only need to remove 0.1 mm, which is 1/250", not much at all! If you convert from a French stem to a standard one, you will also need to replace the handlebars, which are a different diameter."