Ok, here it goes, I recently purchased a 1989 Firebird with a 305 Carbed engine. When I towed the car home I noticed it needed some things put into place, since the P.O. had swapped but not finished up the engine work at all. He says he got the engine out of a Caprice classic along with the trans, and that I need to get a piece for the rear of the trans which is a 700R4. What exactly do i need to do in order to get the engine to run, I believe I need just to hook up basic wires (starter, dist, batt, temp sensor, oil press sensor) Are there any things I need to ensure are spliced out in order to get it to run? Also he gae a a box he said I needed to replace the one I have so it will start I think it is VATS, but not sure. Any help would be appreciated.

Wow, that is too vague to really give much help at all.

If the carb is a stock 80's factory carb, it's probably computer controlled, so it would need a lot more than the basics you listed. But, if it's an earlier or aftermarket carb and has a non-computer distributor, then you're right.

Sound like the tranny doesn't have the VSS like the stock tranny had. Those parts should have been transferred over from the original tranny to the Caprice tranny. Since the f-body output housing has the torque arm mount the b-body tranny doesn't, that stuff should have been transferred over at the time of the swap.

Well, he said I needed a part for the rear of the tranny I am thinking maybe a crossmember. I believe it is an earlier carb though, he really did not do much except for drop the engine down on the mounts and bolt up the tranny mount itself. I am hoping I wont have to do much in the wiring area but I am leaning towards a bit of miracle work. When he got the car it was a rolling chasis with no motor or tranny in it. I will keep you updated with my progress, hopefully I can get her on the road but everytime I go to work on any of my cars the weather goes for the worse. He stated it did have a 305 in it previously so the fit should be right on the money.

What is a VSS I have never heard of that.

Vehicle Speed Sensor. When speedometers were cable driven, the VSS was on the back of the speedometer. By '89, Firebirds had the VSS on the transmission output housing with no cable coming out of the tranny. Just wires.