Odd mounting bracket for 25- or 30bhp thermostat

[BulliBill]

I'm putting together the last items to complete a spare mid 1952 25 hp engine and I've run into an odd mounting bracket for the thermostat on an early engine of some sort. In most respects it is an original 25- or 30bhp thermostat bracket except this bracket has a factory spot welded extra arm (see photos). As you can see, I've tried to mount it on a 36hp crankcase I have here and that added bracket will not fit between the inner two pushrod bosses. I'm guessing this is maybe for a Porsche crankcase? What else could this fit?

The odd bracket is on the left

If I cover up the added-on part of the bracket, you'll see that the remainder is exactly like the normal bracket we all know and adore!

You can just see the four factory spot-welds that attach the add-on bracket piece...

When I tried to fit it to a 1957 VW crankcase, it lines up well with the lower stud hole, and the upper hole in that add-on part lines up with big case stud but the whole bracket will not fit flush to the crankcase...

...nor will the add-on bracket fit between those two push-rod holes without obviously having to modify the factory bracket.

Anyway, I thought I'd put the question and a few photos of it out there and see if one of you engine guru's and puzzle solvers might have seen this oddball factory bracket before and can shed some light on what type and era of engine this odd mounting bracket was made for... I don't really want to cut the add-on arm off just to be able to use it on one of my spare 36hp engines if it fits something else.

So let us know if you know what this bracket properly fits? Thanks!

Perplexed in St. Louis...

Bill
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I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[66brm]

I remember there was a thread on these a while back, I'll see if I can find it
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[BulliBill]

Thanks for the reply. I hope someone can make sense of why the add-on part was added at the factory and for what models or manufacturer (VW or Porsche) it was for...

Bill
_________________
I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[BulliBill]

Oh damn! I found another oddball thermostat mounting bracket! WTF is this one made for? looks super beefy, looks factory made and spot-welded (not backyard cobbled-up) and seems to fit on a 36hp crankcase just fine like the later more common looking one.

The beefy one is in the foreground...

and on the right in this shot...

and in the background in this shot...

and finally on the left in this shot...

Can anyone shed any light on the correct applications for this or the initial oddball thermostat mounting brackets? Inquiring minds want to know! Thanks!

Bill Bowman
_________________
I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[virtanen]

The bigger bracket is the first version 50-51.
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Mika
Split beetle restoration panels
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[BulliBill]

Mika! Thanks for the clarification on this bracket. That is great news, as I might use it on a '51 crankcase that I have a line on, that I unknowingly might have used a later style (the other bracket in the photos above) thermostat bracket for. So it is a two year bracket, ending around ???

I still don't know what the first odd bracket with the extra arm at the beginning of this "thermostat bracket" thread is for? Anyone? Anyone?

Hopefully someone can identify each version of these thermostat brackets with start and end chassis numbers and it could eventually become a FAQ "sticky" for the benefit of us all...

Bill Bowman
_________________
I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!