If that motor is a 25 HP, it's the smallest 25 HP I've ever seen. On the farm, the cases of our 25 HP motors are over 2 feet long, and 18 inches in diameter or so. This motor might be a 5 HP or 7.5 HP.
I would not recommend using the 1X2X0.5 nickel plated neos. It will be very difficult to skew them. If you are going to use them, build a stator like zubbly did, and skew the laminations. This will require a complete rewind.
If you want to avoid doing a rewind, you will want to use many smaller magnets, so you can skew them.
If you're not sure what is meant by wiring in star, I would recommend that you DO NOT attempt to convert this motor. You will likely turn it into an expensive lesson that doesn't work. Keep studying motor conversions, and every step of the process, until you understand everything 110%. If you try to do things, but don't completely understand what you are doing, it's gonna come back and bite you.