Hey everyone. New here and have been looking around the forums, but I figure I would start my own thread, and see what happens. I bought a '91 t-top rs, and I learned a very important thing. Unless you know a lot about cars, do not believe that everything is an easy fix. To begin with the problems I gotta start fixing, the gear shift looks like it is in park, but really, it is in neutral. The next big problem is in order to start the car, you have to use 12 gauge wire and touch the battery with the key in the start position. I was told both would be easy fixes, but the mechanic i was referred to wants to charge $1,200 in order to fix both the tranny and engine, however he wants to change the tbi to carb. He changed the stock 305 to a 350 out of a truck, which is why the electrical was "bypassed". Come to find out, it is just another 305. I would rather rebuild a 350 myself, and try to get around 350 HP out of it. Would anyone be able to direct me to somewhere that might help me fix the tranny, and I have never built a motor. I have looked around at different sites, but I am having trouble finding a site that tells which combination of parts might help me get around the HP I am looking for. I already have a 350 block bored .030 over I bought for $195, a hei distributor, and a procomp intake manifold part #pc22001. Hindsight is 20-20 I know. Please help.

 

I would love to help you but your post is all over the map. I need you to rein yourself in and focus on what's broken. For the time being, please shelve the need for 350HP; that can be a conversation for another day.


This is what I was able to glean from your post

you bought a 3rd gen

you either paid someone or they did you a favor and put an engine into the car

the wiring is messed up and you must hot wire the car to make it start


if that is correct, and you paid for the swap, have the guy finish the job for which you paid.


If that is not correct, please be clear with the issues at hand and your fellow forum members will help you through this


oh, and for what it's worth, I've been around the horn a few times and I can yank my engine and tranny, separate them, put them back together and put back into the car in less time than it's taking me to try and get my turn signal to shut off automatically as the steering wheel spins, and, I also keep messing up the high beam switch on the steering colum. Sometimes what seems like small easy fixes are the real pains and the big jobs are easy.

 

Ah, sorry. I bought the car from a guy in locust grove, with the engine already swapped. I was told that the wiring was done because they were trying to bypass the tbi because the current engine was not a tbi engine, that it really was a Corvette engine. I know that it is not a vette engine, but it is a 305 with a tbi already on it. I asked the guy why he lied, and he said that was what he was told. I then asked him who installed the engine, and maybe we could try and rectify the engine and tranny problem, the guy I bought the car from said that he was the one who swapped engines and the easiest way to fix the issue was to change from the tbi to a carb setup. He told me for another $1,000 that he would be glad to change the setup. I got tired of the bs coming out of the dudes mouth, that I was hoping someone with little car experience like myself could fix the engine.

 

Monday morning quarterbacking is easy. You shall get beyond this and get the car running. It's going to take time and money. You must accept that now or try to sell it at a loss and don't look back.

Nobody can even guess what you actually bought with respect to the hatchet job. You need to go on Amazon and locate a used shop manual and buy it. You need to have a reference of how things should be.

Did the prior owners cut wires, disconnect the ECM etc?

Then, if you are still confused, you find a local shop, not a dealer but a shop and speak with the owner. You ask what a an hour or 2 of their time would be which should be around $150-$200 depending on the area. You get the car on a flat bed at about $70 each way and invest as much as $340 asking a pro to eyeball it and give as much details and opinions.

If you don't have experience, or a dad or relative who knows that they are doing then consider the $340 an investment. You will then know whther you are going to proceed or when selling, you would be able to provide full disclosure to any potential buyer.


good luck but sadly, you have learned a lesson and will carry these 3 things with you going forward

caveat emptor
never buy a vehicle based on emotions
if the deal sounds too good to be true.............you know the rest of the line

 

This should help with the starter wiring: http://www.austinthirdgen.org/index.php?pid=38

The tranny - sounds like a bad shifter cable - try replacing it. BUT NOTE - don't waste time with junk here - get a GM dealer cable or a Dorman brand cable - costs more, but the other brand available breaks (mine broke in 30 days).