I am at the end if a 87 na to TII swap. A/C, Power steering, ACV, air pump, and air split off valve have all been removed. The TII transmission and starter are the only "optional" swap items I used (na rear end). So everything is looking good except the battery wore out a bit from sitting during my 2 month swap. I go to jump it and when trying to put the negative on ground it starts arcing in a big way and heats up very fast. Once clamped down, however, i try to give the car a start. I turn the key, no turn over except an loud blowing/spinning sound is coming from what is believed to be the firewall area. The sound was loud enough that i had to almost yell to my friend whom was helping in front of the car trying to hear what was making the sound. At this point its late so we decide to diagnose this another time.
So what is going on here. Is the starter not contacting the flywheel and just spinning? Along with that is the TII transmission/ wiring harness which also has the battery connectors grounded incorrectly at some point or is grounded and shouldnt be? Thanks any help will be appreciated; i hope this is clear enough.

 

sounds like the solenoid is not engaging the starter gear. Try swapping the starter (you DID use the t2 starter, right?)

 

That sounds rather scary. As soon as you saw a large arch and the battery was heating up you should have disconnected it right away! To me it almost sounds as though you've got your wiring wrong at the starter or something, but I don't know for sure. Definitely give that wiring another look before trying to hook up the battery again!

 

yes i did use the TII starter