Hepease, hepease, hepease, as my two year old says--help please!!!

Generally leave my 69 Delta 88 (w/455) parked at my grandparents house...drove it around for a few days and then took it back. I got in it yesterday to move it in its normal spot (didn't park it where I normally did) and here's the scenario:
Cranked a few, pushed the gas, then cranked a few. No start. Did it again, no start, then I couldn't even get it to crank. Wife yelled, "I think your car's on fire!!!" Lots of smoke! I looked under the drivers side floor pan and the emergency brake cable was smoking like crazy as it was touching the floor pan. The insulation was black in a 4 inch section. Moved the e-brake cable and started cranking again with a slight sputter here and there, and then nothing again! Looked under the hood and the battery terminal had melted off the post. What the crap is going on?

Hepease

 

Ouch! I'd trace you positive battery cable down to the starter. I'm guessing that the insulation wore through and it's shorting on something. The emergency brake cable may or may not be what it's shorting against, but it could be the short is going from the car frame to the body through the emergency brake cables. So between the battery and the starter is where I'd start looking. John

 

I hate when that happens. You're lucky that battery didn't blow up.
Check the engine grounds to the body and the ground to the engine from the battery, loose terminal connection. It may have a bad or no ground and the juice found a path through the body via the emergency brake cable. Sort of like the way the floor shifter cables melt if the engine isn't grounded to the body.
Was the battery clamped down good and terminals not touching anywhere? I had one ground out on the positive years ago. The car all of a sudden had no brakes. I threw it in low and stomped the e-brake and did some Steve Mcqueen driving. I finally got it stopped in a old gravel VFW parking lot when a couple of my buddies jumped out and did it manually. Flintstone brakes don't work in real life, it was a Chebelle four door and we tried that first. I opened the hood and the battery terminal was up against the fender and the brake lines at the master cylinder were glowing red.