I6 to V8 swap questions

[sjarrett71]

My uncle recently spun a rod bearing in his 81 Chevy 2wd with an inline 6 cylinder. He is thinking about swapping over to a V8 and since I am the family mechanic he wants me to do it. My questions are:

1. What is entailed in the swap? I understand I will have to get the complete v8 motor, accessory brackets and everything.

2. Will I have to change the crossmember or just the motor mounts?

3. Would it be easier to just rebuild the I6? If so, how easy is it? I heard from a friend I could do it with the engine still in the truck.

I did use the search feature but found nothing dealing with my questions. Any threads that you know of would be great.