Help Identify This Transmission Support

**Luscombe1940** · #1 (**permalink**) 07-11-2008, 06:28 PM

Hi,

I have started to make repairs to the 79 Spider I bought a month ago. Jacked the car up and got under it to start on the fuel line replacement and noticed something odd with the transmission.

Can anyone tell me what the extra supports on the transmission indicate? I'm talking about the round holes in the bracket behind the main support. It looks like the bracket is bolted to the transmission but nothing is attached to the circular areas. There is a rubber grommet in one hole and the other hole is empty.

It is obvious this is not the original transmission.

The car was not running when I bought it so I have no idea what kind of shape the transmission or engine are in.
Thanks for your help.

Gary

**ossodiseppia** · #2 (**permalink**) 07-11-2008, 06:37 PM

Normally part of the exhaust would be bolted to that. Your exhaust seems to be missing the front resonator. Are those headers?

**Tifosi** · #3 (**permalink**) 07-11-2008, 07:07 PM

Check this thread here for description and pitchurs and drawin's.

Or you can pick up a whole one cheap from APE if you want to incorportate one, but it'll require cuting off some of the header pipe to get it to work right (or, make a custom lower arm for it that matches what you have)

**Luscombe1940** · #4 (**permalink**) 07-11-2008, 08:32 PM

Thanks Guys,

I found the illustration in the shop manual.

I think they are headers, not sure. I'll take some photos tomorrow and post them. I will have to fabricate a new mount to support the exhaust system before I put this on the road.

Thanks,

Gary

**Luscombe1940** · #5 (**permalink**) 07-11-2008, 08:41 PM

They are headers, I just looked. That explains why the bracket is not there.
I'll take some photos tomorrow and post them.

Gary

**Tifosi** · #6 (**permalink**) 07-11-2008, 11:09 PM

I just got through retroverting my exhaust to a standard cat and center muffler setup.

Long story but the basic of it is I have long tube headers like you and it was always a SOB to get a cat and center muffle to fit right, (and then not start leaking in 6 weeks or bash up against the floorboards), so I finally broke down and got a cat from Magnaflow and a new center mufler, then cut back the header pipes so that the stock mount on the cat would mate with the hanger bracket like it should.

I did have the advantage of having a spare collector for the header though, so I didn't have to fiddle with the old one to get a nice fit onto the tubes.

I'll be putting it up on ramps again this weekend to do some cleaning if you'd like pictures of what it looks like.

**Luscombe1940** · #7 (**permalink**) 07-12-2008, 05:40 AM

Darren,

That would be great!
I would really appreciate photos. Your solution sounds like it works well. SIncie I am going to be under the car working on the rust, I will want to take care of the exhaust system at the same time. I think the bracket support needs to be part of the system.

Gary

**Tifosi** · #8 (**permalink**) 07-12-2008, 12:07 PM

Well, these didn't come out as well as I'd hoped (apparently the car needs ot be like 3 feet higher than I had it for a good camera angle)

Anyway:

You can see the bracket in all 3 and sorta mabe get an idea how the header tubes were cut to get things shoved forward so the cat and centermuffler could be reverted to stock fitting components.

I don't have the scraps to tell you how much got cut off the pipes and the collector (which likely wouldn't do you a lot of good anyway if you don't have the exact set of headers I do...) but there was some cut off the tubes, the ends of the collector where it slip fits onto the tubes, (no, it doesn't leak), and a wee bit off the end where the O2 sensor is located.

From there I had matching flanges welded onto the cat input tube and the header collector (flange alignment is critical! otherwise the whole rest of the exhaust won't hang right)

Can you tell why I had it up to do some cleaning?

Point of note: I wouldn't reccomend using the converter I did unless you want to end up cutting half of it away never to be used (it was originally meant to go all the way up to a set of stock manifolds)

Of course if you're just looking at getting the hanger to function w/o worrying about a cat then it's no biggie, and actually a bit more forgiving on how much would need to be cut out of the headers. (you could weld a hanger bracket right ot the side of one of the collector tubes for example)

**Luscombe1940** · #9 (**permalink**) 07-13-2008, 05:36 AM

Darren,

Thanks for the photos!

Gary