I just got an 81 Camaro with a 350 engine. I was told it ran before sitting for a number of years. The seller lost the keys so I took his word for it (1st mistake right?) I got another steering column for it, changed the carb and tried to start it yesterday. I turned the key, the starter clicked once, then the ground from the battery to the fender started smoking-it burned right off and was really hot! After that happened, the headlights didn't work, turn signals, int. lights-nothing. Anyone know what I should look for? Any help would be appreciated!

 

pull the starter and see if it works. bench test= use jumper cables, ground the starter with the ground cable and hook the positve to the post the battery cable was hooked to. then use an old screwdriver to conect/short the post the positive cable is connected to with the small post the small wire was hooked to. the starter should turn over. it will jump so hold it down. be careful if it is grounded on the inside it will not turn over and throw sparks and get hot fast so be ready to dissconect right away. it will also do this if u hit a grounded/wrong area of the starter.

 

my bike does that now, and its seized. if the starter was making the battery cables smoke im assuming that it is somehow stuck. pull a few plubs and try turning the motor over by hand a couple of times. just to make sure the motor spins freely w/o compression

 

This man has likely hit your problem on the head. You have bought a car with a locked motor...

 

plubs.... lol
i meant plugs. the motor isnt necessarily stuck. if the motor spins w/ the plugs out then it could be the starter that is just jammed

 

Yeah but I, for some reason, doubt it is just the starter. Considering the shady nature of the deal lol.

 

if he fried the wire then something is stuck in the starter to not let it disingadge. im assuming he let off on the key and it kept frying till it burned of. a shorted solonoid could be doing it. or the windings on the starter could be grounded and when it shorted it fried the solonoid in the ingadged position. if he held the key in start position while it was frying then i would say its something else like what kal and spector are saying and either way it could be the motor is seized up.