More than you ever really wanted to know about sidedraft elbow clamps

I never knew there was more than one version of the clamp that holds the rubber air intake elbow to the 32-PHN air cleaner, but while putting things back together I realized I had two very different clamps to choose from:





I don't know if one is a later design development or if they were just from different suppliers. I have an owner's manual dated 11/61 that shows the one on the left, but I'll probably end up using the one on the right. It works better and it's a more elegant design solution overall.

A very different clamp was shown in early press photos and the 1961 edition of the VW 1500 Workshop Manual:



It seems to be a rubber strap. This design must have been superseded just before production began. It does explain that odd indentation found on the top of most sidedraft air cleaners though.