Python object conversion

a = A() # parent class
b = B() # subclass
b.value = 3 # random setting of values

a.__dict__ = b.__dict__ # give object a b's values

# now proceed to use object a

Would this satisfy your use case? Note: Only the instance variables of b will be accessible from object a, not class B's class variables. Also, modifying variables in a will modify the variable in b, unless you do a deepcopy:

import copy
a.__dict__ = copy.deepcopy(b.__dict__)

This does the "class conversion" but it is subject to collateral damage. Creating another object and replacing its __dict__ as BrainCore posted would be safer - but this code does what you asked, with no new object being created.

class A(object):
    pass

class B(A):
    def __add__(self, other):
        return self.value + other


a = A()
a.value = 5

a.__class__ = B

print a + 10