1973 GTX, Can anyone Identify this Engine Bracket?

My buddy has a 1973 GTX, 440 auto NON AC car. Car is mostly original. Even has original paint. Question, there is a bracket bolted onto the front of the valley pan just in front of the carb. Looks like and engine pull bracket but we all know these motors were installed from underneath. Can anyone identify what this bracket is for?

A/C back compressor mount.

Yep, it's for A/C. I have a 76 400 that has the same bracket.

Interesting. This car was not a factory AC car. Wonder how it got there.

Is the car a one owner and numbers matching? If not its any ones guess.

Two owner car. Makes no sense why someone would just bolt on one of many AC brackets with no intent of installing AC.

Is it numbers matching?

Then it most likely was a production item. I remember seeing many 400 and 440 non a/c cars with them. I just don't remember what year it started. It could of been a plant or just easier to have the bracket in place weather it was a/c or not. If I remember correctly earlier big blocks did not have them. Same rv2 compressor but maybe different mounting brackets.

That paint isn't factory original so who knows what has been changed.

I saw that also.

I believe those A/C brackets were originally for 400 equipped cars only. I tried to make one work for a stock 440 setup and it would not line up with compressor.

wasn't there a vacuum amplifier mounted close to the distributor on some vehicles ?