My 216 didn't have that spacer in there. It looks like something that would get a bolt threaded into it from the bottom, maybe for a different type of motor mount? On second look, the holes for the bolts look round where mine had square holes to engage the carriage bolts and keep them from turning. A round hole wouldn't allow that. I think you could work around that by grinding off one side of the carriage bolts to allow them to drop in place. You might have to also remove the square shoulder on the bolts also for them to seat all the way down. I don't think it would affect the mount at all with 3/4 of the carriage bolt head still intact.
Or maybe it'd be possible to remove the spacer. It's likely spot welded on, and might be removable using a chisel to break the welds loose. But you'd then need to make the bolt holes square for the carriage bolts to engage.
