It looks like there's plenty of room to attach the tranny cross member to your frame connectors. If you'll remember from my previous posts the 2004R tranny mount is only 4 1/2" inches further back than the stock cross member mount. From your pics it looks like there a solid section at least 6"-7" long before you get to the cut out. But it doesn't matter because you prefer the curved tube type cross member. If you do go that route I hope you realize that because the 2004R tranny mount is significantly lower than the factory mount you can't use a tube that is only bent in one axis. In other words, it will have to bent in the vertical axis as well as the horizontal axis. My tranny mount, like yours, will end up at a level just below the top of your pipes. So you can't come straight across, it's gotta drop down between the pipes. In my crude drawing the mount is actually lower (relative to the pipes) than where I drew it.
Of course your pipes my hang lower than mine so you never know. Check out my previous pics looking from the back of the driveshaft area and you'll see that the mounting surface on my home made tranny mount is pretty low relative to the factory one. Maybe you'll get lucky, you never know.
Please excuse the crude drawing....LOL!!1
Treblig
More great info Treblig, and thanks for taking the time to draw out your ideas. I appreciate it. It looks like my exhaust hangs low enough to be out of the way enough to add an additional crossover for the motor mount. I'm wondering if it would be structurally worth while to have it bolt on at tabs welded not only at the subframe connectors, but also tabs where it could be bolted to the yet-to-be fabricated transmission reinforcement hump area where the cuts need to be made for clearance to fit the wider 200R4 as it passes through the stock factory crossmember? Your thoughts?
In other words, making the new crossmember tie into the added on structure that's needed to strengthen the area where the material is going to be removed from the torsion bar crossmember. In a sense, triangulating the two new add on structures. Any ideas on that approach?
On a somewhat related note, I've increased the load on the factory torsion bar mount even more this weekend.
I finished installing 1" Firm Feel torsion bars and put in a set of Hotchkis adjustable strut rods. I also boxed in the lower control arms, set the ride height and adjusted my Koni's all the way up to one click from max dampening to handle the stiffer spring rates both front and rear (the rear has two driver's side super stock springs with a 1" lowering block).
I then did a crude driveway alignment (set toe in to 1/8") and took the car for a spin. Wow, what a difference in ride, handling and tracking on the freeway. The spring rates feel almost perfectly balanced. The one inch front bars are nowhere near as stiff as I had heard for the street with this small block and 727 in the car. It corners a lot better now too. I'm going to wait to get a real alignment until after the new motor and trans are in. I used to only be able to get .5 degrees positive caster, even with the Firm Feel tubular upper control arms. It should be capable of getting to 3 degrees now without making my camber get out of spec.
The point of mentioning this suspension upgrade is to highlight the fact that the added strain these 1 inch bars will put into the crossmember will require some combination of strong reinforcing techniques at the crossmember so that the structural integrity of that part of the car is not compromised. I think it's within the realm of my capabilities thanks to many of the illustrations and information you've provided so well on your posts Treblig. Thanks for that!
I'm still not exactly sure what it will end up looking like, but it is going to have to be strong, decent looking, simple to reproduce and well thought out.
