This is not an option in this case as the old VM would be the clone prior to conversion,
The vm with the snapshot would be the production vm.
The reason for using the clone to convert is the time factor. Converting the original could take hours in a 24x7 system this is not an option, even at this point I am not sure if I can take it down long enough to clone the production VM, to allow the change to go ahead. This is why I am exploring options.