I inhereted a 86 firebird that needs some work to say the least. i hooked a battery up and decided to see if it would crank/ start. The ignition switch will advance into the on position with ease but will not go to start position. Any ideas?

 

The actual switch is above the steering column, under the guages. The key cylinder when turned pushes a rod into the actual switch. It's possible the switch is bad, or the rod has becomed dislodged from the switch. Is it an automatic? If so, there's also a cable that runs into the ignition switch that won't allow the car to be turned to start unless fully in park or neutral.

To get to the actual switch, remove underdash panel, remove the bracket that holds up the underdash panel, then remove the two large buts that hold the steering column up to the dash, and allow the column to fall down (the wire bundles will hold it up off the floor). Then you can see the switch on top of the column.

 

It is a manual and thank you i will try to fix it asap.