Thanks for the info.

In response to people who called me 'he', I am female.

The bike felt small when converted to a touring style because I put 1.5" Panaracer slicks on it. I also put on a short (60mm) Nitto Stem with Rando bars. The difference between that set up and a standard quill MTB stem / bar setup was huge. Id been using a 100mm long MTB stem with and upward angle, and bars with a 2" rise. I'd also had a shock fork on it for a while. All of this, combined with 2.1" knobbys, made the bike feel very upright and I'd say it fit me very appropriately as a Mountain Bike. The drop bar set up brought me much closer to the top tube and the slicks and straight fork brought it closer to the ground.

I'm really just exploring my options here... I wasn't looking for lectures. I love this frame and was wondering what options may be for making it a touring frame. I work as a mechanic, I'm aware of all the options out there in terms of new bikes and I'm not interested in them.

@ Fred Smedly, My MB3 is an '89. As I stated, I put 700c wheels (w/ 25mm tires) into the frame and it fit with room to spare. I was amazed. There is no reason this frame wouldn't accomodate 650b's.

What I really wanted to know is if the brakes would line up with 650b's. I now know they wont, though I have learned the bosses can be rebrazed for pretty cheap.

Those of you who want to talk someone out of a conversion like this should check this article:
http://velo-orange.blogspot.com/2011...t-to-650b.html
It explains a lot about why someone would opt for 650b's on a touring bike and shows that it can work pretty well.