  We present new interferometric HI and CO (1-0) observations of the luminous
infrared source, Arp 256. Arp 256 consists of two spiral galaxies in an early
stage of merging, with a projected nuclear separation of 29 kpc (54") and an
infrared luminosity of 2.0E11 L_sun. Despite the large separation of the
galaxies' nuclei and mildly disrupted stellar components, the HI disks are
found to be strongly disrupted, and the southern galaxy in Arp 256 shows an
elevated star formation efficiency, which is consistent with a nuclear
starburst. Both of these results run contrary to expectations, posing
interesting questions on the physical mechanisms involved in stimulating star
formation during an interaction.
