To be fair, my van didn't have the cross box bolted to the box and didn't seem to have any issues so if it works for you, well, just roll with it....it gets plenty of support elsewhere!

Nels,
a cantilever, attached only at the exhaust manifold(s), doesn't really have 'plenty of support'...

Agree 100% with Ken - best to have the cross box fixed to gear box. How much of a knock is it - could it be possible to grind a little dent in the handbrake lever thing to clear the pipe?

Tbh guys - most modern cars have little in the way of any serious mounting from the manifold back apart from rubber hangers so a poxy lightweight A series exhaust isn't going to task the manifolds that much....however, I do remember that the cross box on the shed was attached by one lonesome bolt and the other waved in the air....

However, most moderns have a manifold which is attached by at least 6 bolts, with a flexible coupling close to the front end, which isolates the manifold joint from relative movement between the engine/gearbox lump and the rest of the exhaust system.

Also, on an A series, it's a fair distance from the front clamps to the crossbox.
I bet you'd soon get tired holding it at that distance and shaking it from side to side, as happens with the dynamic loads imposed on the engine/gearbox assembly...

Do you know when it was refurbished? Nick Cordiner retired a while back now.
Ian Stockdale took over some of the customers but he's not running under that name anymore and working from a unit adjacent to the original.

His number is 0781 085 7912

Mark, thanks for that info. The rebuild must have been done 10 years or more ago.
Just for interest the car is a fully original 1975 Club. Apart from a 1987 engine , replacement chassis, round headlamps and first registered as a Charleston.
Don

Maybe you can mount the whole handbrake assembly a few millimeters back on the chassis, of this fully original car.

Haven't started undoing clamps yet as I've been assigned to other duties. But looking at the way the crossbox pivots on the gearbox bolts, sufficient adjustment is going to missalign the exhaust system. As it stands it all lines up perfectly so perhaps there is some difference in the way the handbrake lever mounts on the chassis.
One way on is to undo all the clamps and position the crossbox so it doesn't foul and then see how it lines up. For now it does work.
Don