My wife's '89 240 w/230k miles was not sparking, so I replaced plug wires, plugs, fuses, fuel pump relay, and the crank position sensor. Now it starts just fine, but won't go, the clutch engages, it feels almost like the parking brake is seized... before I go take that apart and see if it's stuck, does anyone have experience with this sort of thing happening after replacing crank sensor?

 

Ok, rocked it enough to get it moving, but I can hear the brakes grinding.

 

Has the car been sitting long? I see this often with older Buick's, where the front brake pads(sometimes rear as well) will seize onto the rotor after sitting for longer then a month or two. This is usually permanent and requires complete overhaul of the brake's.

Jack it up if you can, and take a peek. If this is the case, you must do an entire brake job.

 

You may have a stuck parking shoe or a caliper. I'd start with the parking brakes...

 

I think part of the story must have been left out for brevity? After protracted sitting up, it's much more common for the parking brake shoes to seize than the calipers. Old swollen rubber brake lines will act like one way valves, allowing fluid to the calipers but not allowing the fluid pressure to reduce when foot is off the pedal. Start at whatever corner(s) are grinding and go from there.

 

Jack it up and free one wheel at a time. I made a rim with a pipe welded on at an angle so I could put a pry bar ft in pipe to free up one wheel at a time.

 

Just go ahead and order new rear pads and caliper kits and rebuild the lot. The car is old enough now it needs to be done and you'll not have to worry about it or 20 years.