351e/TH400 Connector

[stoutstyle]

I just purchased my first old vehicle and it had a rather sizeable leak in the transmission oil pan. It has 2 rods connecting the engine and transmission together that also tied the bell housing tight. When I dropped the pan I realized these connecting rods had rubbed a hole in the side of the pan so I ordered a new pan...no big deal. Well the new pan doesn't allow enough space for the connecting rods due to encroaching on the bolt hole (obviously an aftermarket design to fit a TH400 and not accounting for this vehicle)

My question is how necessary are these brackets. They appear to tie the whole system together and I assume due to the amount of torque this truck has, but I am not planning on doing any hauling.

I went ahead and put the new pan in and buttoned it all up and drove it around a little and all seem fine. But do I need to just order another stock pan and get the brackets put back on before my transmission falls out the back?

1967 GMC Camper Cruiser with a 351E and TH400.

[stoutstyle]

Any ideas?

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[AZKen]

Bend them and modify to fit or leave one or both off. If they are what I think they are, they are for 4x4 application to a NP205. The motor and tranny should have no real relative motion, they are bolted together, so I don't see how it rubbed except for vibration or they were loose?

[Funky61]

Those sound like the automatic tranny adapter support rods. I'd put them back on.