Thanks to a well respected member on here I got a working thermostat ,big thanks to Mike B,got a mounting bracket on the way from the US,but getting close to running it up so preferred to have something.
Had a T1 unit with bracket so made the bracket to suit ...not easy ,tested closed with flaps tentioned.
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Thermostat expanded with small butane torch,bingo works perfect I could even here on the last part of movement the flaps hit the stops.
Had a cable but the end didn't fit, to the bike shop for a nice SS Shimano cable for peanuts.
More to follow, .

Motor getting closer to running up but thought I was clever and setup the carb linkage,2 days later realized it pulling the wrong way...what a dork !!! I had bus engine (which it is) in my head not mid-engine ,all sorted now.
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Alloy valve covered as per buyers request,must sat they fit well.
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Found dizzy drive out 180 degress and sorted,however dizzy out on #1,forgot its a beetle SVDA in design, remarked the body all good.
Buyer has asked for me to find him a good sideshifter on the westcoast of the US,started as a longblock built and now it is clutch, trans and more....not really an issue as have enjoyed it.

Nice progress Dean. Can do attitude!

Very cool to see it coming together.

Hi mate thanks,needs be really,comes from living in a parts desert,ordered a bracket from a guy on ebay but received a paypal refund this morning appears he had lost the one he was selling ,totally amazed how hard it is to find this piece of folded tin without being held to ransom on price .
Its a PITA to convert the T1 mount,real time consuming.

You need the type 4 thermostat bracket? I'm sure I have more than 1 and you can have if you need.

Thanks for the offer but have found another one so kinda sorted,will keep you in mind if that turns to ,

Heard some bad feedback on these EMPI rocker covers due to pulling rocker studs ,IMO that's rubbish ,if you exceed the torque of the rocker studs then maybe an issue but why not use the correct torque when fitting covers !!!.
I got worried about this so installed 4 HT 8mm studs to counter any issues,old 7mm ones were a mother to get out but larger ones when in well and used a lick of Loctite.
Funny as the heads were sold to me as being 1.7 bus heads opened up to 94mm ,checked the casting numbers again and they are in fact ROW carb 2.0 heads with bigger valves,should work well enough.

Sorry missed your reply found one and thanks for your offer,due to some very kind helpful people I now have nearly all I need,amazed really ,big shout out to Mike B and Kevin W for help and others who replied to my WTB.
Got the motor hooked up today and cranked for a while on a tight motor and got 40+psi oil pressure...real happy considering it wasn't turning over very fast.
Dosed the carbs with fuel in them and got one kick then flat battery,suspect an ignition problem due to low voltage .
Good day no oil leaks and happy thanks.

Update and all is not well .
Ran the starter off my t4 transporter battery (730 cca) and much improved cranking ,after swapping out the hotspark SVDA,for one with points I set static timing,refitted the hotspark dizzy and it fired up quickly,oil pressure was 55psi @ fast idle,ran for a short time and got some temperature up.
Had a good look for oil leaks and found a small one @ my grease gun gauge line ..no big deal,I thought.
Had a misfire on one cyl under rev's so fitted new plugs ,fired up again and that was sorted,reduced the idle speed to a nice tickover speed,ran for a while and continued checks,was about to fit timing light and heard a strange whirring noise so shut it down after quickly noting oil pressure @ 45psi.
Noticed a lot of fumes out of breather after shutdown ?? didn't seem hot or smell of burnt oil,pulled the plugs and found the engine turned easily and no tight spots.
Changed the oil filter a noticed no silver particles but evidence of the graphite assembly lube I had used,oil still very clean.
Helpful suggestions would be appreciated before I consider a restart or teardown,not keen on a restart @ this stage.
Pretty upset @ the moment as lots of work done on the build and have been real fussy.
TIA.

Check the impeller area to make sure you did not suck something in there to make the sound.

Are you running a stock oil pressure relief valve? When the engine is completely warm and it opens to send oil through the oil cooler the pressure can drop a bit. Going from 50 to 45 psi does not seem to indicate a catastrophic failure.

What did the plugs look like when pulled? Any damage. Make sure nothing has started rubbing like the tin on the belt.

Check all rotating parts for bolt tightness, impeller, alternator, make sure dizzy is in tight and cap is on secure.

Pull valve covers and check rockers and make sure all push tube rods and seated in the rocker arms and that all the valves move as they should.

If that checks out then keep plugs out and do compression check. If that is good then it is either time to start again or pull. Unless the sound you heard was what you would think was a serious failure starting may be the way to find the sound.

Keep us posted.

Hi Mike thanks,
Will remove cooling fan today as it certainly sounded like something rubbing.
Running stock oil pressure valves,removed them before fitting barrels and pistons and found galleries clean and springs and pistons in great condition with no galling.
Engine wasn't hot enough for thermostat to fully open but think it was close.
Plugs were fine when pulled ,showing a little rich but nothing else wrong,not running belt or altenator for that matter.
Have checked everything for tightness but was going to remove the gearbox and check the flywheel as it could be rubbing on bellhousing as I'am using a T1 swingaxle gearbox for a starter mount.
Pulled the valve covers and checked for oil getting up there,plenty ,the rest was all in order.
Yesterday I turned the engine with plugs out on a smaller battery so cranking was fairly slow ,got 43psi on mechanical oil pressure gauge which was the same as I got on priming the engine before starting the first time.
Think I found the reason for the heavy fuming from the breather as some idiot had left shop rags in the breather tower ,luckily I put 2 in there folded up and that's what I removed.
I can't think of a reason for a bottom end issue as the motor was known to me before I bought it,very little wear on big end bearing but replaced them anyway, crank unmarked and still in spec,rod side clearances were .0012 to .0013in.
Will report back TIA.

Further checks showed nothing out of order,did notice the reason for poor cranking speed,bus flywheel not playing well with 911 starter due to ring gear wear,have a new 914 215mm one to go on but can't be used with T1 gearbox due to wrong offset and thickness.
Fired the bugger up again and all is good in T4 land,bought up to temp,warmed up and still getting 38 psi oil pressure with thermostat open,under part throttle 55psi so happy as,did a basic balance of carbs and will do timing tomorrow , packed up for the night and will have a few ice cold Carlsberg's,happy to be inside as the weather has been here for weeks and its early spring .

Good news!

Update,between other jobs I have sorta got this build done,minor things to finish.
Tried to clean the fan housing with the usual cleaners but no real success,split the assembly and give it a fine sandblast,worked well for coat of high temp silver.
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Real happy setting up Dellorto's...real easy,remember first start with basic setting and they just worked and run smooth with a timing change.
Kinda wish I still had a bus to put it in ,the new owner will be happy.