swapping olds 260 to a chevy 350???

I got a 1981 cutlass surpreme with the F vin and the 260 motor in it. i need somebody to please tell me how hard will it be for me to swap the 260 to a chevy 350 with an 700 R4 trans. i have a 350 4 bolt main block ready for parts to be installed. I am in tech school now taking auto technology and the i work at a shop already. the problem is i keep getting mixed advice about swapping from olds to chevy. a couple of master techs i work with say that it is going to be a pain in the butt and i should just leave the olds motor in and my boss and my school instructor say not to waste my time with the olds and start building the 350. i need to know what problems could i possible get into with this? What all is different? what will i need for the installation to go smoothly? Is it possible without to many headaches? IN NEED OF ANSWERS VERY BADLY PLEASE!  

depends if you want cruise control and AC cuz you will need brackets,  battery will have to go on the passenger side,  you will have to find the factory holes in the frame for the chevy frame mounts if it has them,  if not your could weld them in place or drill new ones,  I would set motor and trans in car (chevy transmission) and have the frame mounts bolted to the motor,  set engine in place where you want it and tack weld frame mounts in place and disconnect mounts from engine and pull it out,   then your mounts will be where you need them so you could weld or drill holes to bolt them in,    maybe find a monte carlo to find other parts.  

I would not think this would be too difficult of a swap.I would go with the 350.  
78 El camino
70 GS 455
66 Toronado

yes... the chevy will bolt in with all the stuff from a chevy.. like motor mounts, exhaust, transmission, all the stuff on the front of the motor ... everything is different...

there is another trick...

that being an olds. motor....    307 olds motors are easily  available... 350 olds motors are widely  available... 400 olds motors are hard to find...  but 455 olds motors can be had with just a little searching...

there are a few slight differences in motor mounts between motors... but...   most of the stuff with the exception of the exhaust manifolds will fit..  the 260 i think uses a tiny exhaust manifold..

with years of experience.. you will find that unless you have all the stuff to swap it in...  its more expensive to change brands of motors than it is to go to a larger displacement of the same style of motor...

both are completely do able..

what are you planning on doing with the car...      just a daily driver???? leave the 260...  a hot rod... go larger... just know.. that there is a lot to ***

i would think that reading a bunch of the tech articles on the link above would be a great learning activity..  you really need to subscribe to several of the magazines available.. and read them... as most of which you ask is covered with pictures every year in various magazines...    click on my user name to see some of them...  knowledge is power.....

when you are ready... you won't have to ask how do i do this...  you will be able to open the hood... and say... i need to do this and do to that.. and it will all work when you are done.... that is one of the reasons you are going to school...

learn as much as you can in school.... stuff changes so fast in the real automotive world.. you won't believe it...

somebody stubs their toe... thinks up an idea...  and its on an upcoming car model...   maybe we should not be wearing steel toed shoes???????   limits the thinking ability..    

i don't plan on doing much to the car like drag racing of anything, i just want a little more horse power so i need a few more cubic inches. My plan was to sell the 260 along with the trans because they both still work really good. im am selling alternator and all i just want to leave wires and the brake booster. the chevy 350 will get new starter, altenator, powersteering, brackets and all hopefully to make everthing come out smoothly. i just want the car to have alittle more power thats all and still be dependable to drive where ever i want.  

Thanks for the tips that really makes alot of sense and cuts out alot of guess work. Im not really worried about the cruise control or AC. What about swapping the wires for the starter since it is on the pass side of the motor?  

the battery cable with be the easy part,  but the wires running from the fuse box to the starter could be spliced so they will be long enough, or take the fuse box apart and get the right kind of connector for the fuse box and run a longer wire.  

It is so much more work and money to install a chevy where an olds was than it would be to find an olds 350 and put that together.
You do what you feel you have to, but putting an olds in there just makes much more sense.  

Every car should have a Chevy engine. Except mine.