AngieM

I bought a 2000 Cavalier back in February and recent had brake line issues, I took the car to Midas to get an estimate and while the car was on the rack the mechanic noticed that a 1 foot gap had been cut out of the subframe directly under the motor. The mechanic was baffled as to why and even went as far as to say the subframe looked like it belonged to a 2003 model car and based on some yellowish green lettering on the frame they assumed it was from a junk yard. When I told the owner of the car lot about the problem he had his mechanic look at the car and according to them it is the right subframe and had been cut by a previous owner to fit an after market exhaust on the car. Midas told me today that the car has the factory exhaust on it. So, my questions are this: 1. Has anyone ever heard of this being done before and is it legal to drive with it in this condition? 2. Can it cause harm or damage to the cars other parts (motor mounts, trans etc etc) and 3. If the subframe was cut to fit an after market exhaust would the factory exhaust be able to be put back on afterwards? I appreciate any and all info about this matter.