RE: trike to taildragger conversion for LT40
I have seen some people post about using larger wheels, don't know if that will work for your friend though.
To convert to tail dragger, I would remove the trike gear, get a new front gear made out of flat aluminum stock and mount it just slightly in front of the LE (reinforce the heck out of the mounting location and install blind nuts from the inside), then get a tail wheel assembly and install it at the rear with pull-pull controls.