Muffler Problem

[mbboy]

Before I get around to working on my fuel gauge problem, as well as a number of other things, I'm trying to stop the upper, left side of the forward lip of my muffler from hitting the bottom of the left, rear wheel well for some reason.

As you can see from one of the photos, the left hook on my Ansa muffler doesn't line up with the hook on the chassis, and bending the muffler's hook flattens it out, so it won't hold the hanger.

I tried using wire ties to hold the muffler up against the wheel well, but that didn't work, either. So, as you can see in another one of the photos, I've tied the pipes to the stabilized bar with wire ties, which keeps the muffler up against the wheel well.

It's not very elegant, though it will look better when I cut the tail off the wire tie, and spray it black. However, I'm not sure if this is going to be a long term solution because the wire ties might stretch.

In any case, before I even take the car out on the hwy, I was wondering if you guys thought that this arrangement would affect the ride or handling by, say, preventing the stabilizer from operating correctly.

In addition, I was wondering if you guys had some other solution to my problem, short of getting a new muffler, since this one is still good.

Thanks for the advice on the fuel gauge problem, and in advance for any advice you can give me on this problem.