GE and Hotpoint seem to have a good number of parts available for standard surface units, controls, and oven elements.  The exception is the Sensi-Temp thermostatic surface unit.... IF you can find that part it'll cost you!

The oven thermostat on your Crosley could possibly be replaced by another generic one - I think Robertshaw still makes a variety of controls that can be adapted. 

And, if you ever need to replace a surface unit, I have a few brand-new 6-inch Chromalox units (for three-wire controls) which would work but will not be a match for the other wide-tube units on the Crosley.  

It would be enormously easier if you had a wiring diagram.

But - here's how to approach such a fix.

First, we have to figure out a few things. This will make it easier.

One - I'm guessing you have 240VAC, yes?

Two - The connection for the Pre-Heat light is to those two brass points in the back of that pretty little white bakelight piece. One side will go to the neutral line, one side will go to the connection on the new thermostat which will either say 'P' or pilot-light or indicator light.

You can test it (I assume you know the safety procedures) first with standard 120v current. If it no longer lights or flickers badly, you can replace the little neon lamp easily, it's a standard part.

Three - how are the broil and bake element wired up? Sometimes they are completely separate from each other, other times they share a wire between them. Rarely, there are other set-ups.

I'm going to assume the most common here - when the broil is on, the bake is off. When the bake is on, the broil is off. They may have four separate wires or only three. If it's three, take a picture and post it so we can tell you how to procede. It's not hard, either way. 

So - a clear wiring diagram came with the generic thermostat. There will be (not necessarily with these names, could be numbers with the key to them in the diagram):

L₁ and L₂ These are where the power goes into the thermostat. It should come up straight from the connector for the plug to the range.

P or Pilot or Indicator or Lamp - this is turned on when power is going to the oven. It may turn off during the bake cycle to indicate that the P-H level has been reached, then turn back on a gain when it turns the heat back on again. It probably stays lit the whole time the broil element is turned on.

You will have a wire coming up separately from neutral for the other connection on the pretty white bakelight piece. It may come up straight from the connector to the range's plug or it may come (more likely) from a group of neutral wires running to other lights or outlets. It's no big deal where it comes from.

There will be either three or four connectors left. If there are four, two of them will go to the broil element and the other two to the bake element. If there are three, then one will go to one terminal on each element and the other two will be be hooked up, one each, to the remaining contact on each element.

There are variations, but, basically, this is how it works. If you give us a link to the generic thermostat control, we can probably find the wiring diagram and that, together with good pictures of the elements and the back of the range controls, etc., will be enough to help you piece this together so it works safely and reliably for decades more.

Gosh - how pretty!

And I notice they are running the pilot light on 240, not 120 as I suggested. Either way is possible.

Here's the diagram:

For what you had. You'll just have to trace the wires, which is easy. 

but it's probably right - he has two wires hooked up to the 'com3', one of them going to one connector on the broil, one to one connector on the bake, then one wire going to the other broiler element from 'brl2' and one to the bake element from 'bke1', right?

If so, that's correct. Some people just run one wire from 'com3' to one broiler connection and then continue it down to one bake connection, with is OK, too as they're never both on at the same time.

Now the pilot light. This is going to take some patience, but it's not hard and you can't damage it. First, try hooking it up to 120v. If it glows brightly, then the solution is easy - one connection to 'PL', one connection to Neutral, either at the connector at the bottom of the range or any Neutral connector which is closer.

If the bulb is dim or flickers or doesn't light at all, then it's either 240 or burnt out or about to fail. No problem at all. A new neon bulb is super cheap and easily ordered through Amazon. You'll want one with the resistor. You can test the PL connection by hooking up a regular light bulb (low watts, less than 40) to it and neutral then turning on the thermostat. It should cycle on and off to show it's working.

Hope this helps. If it's not clear, I'll try to make it clearer. Beautiful range!

When I wrote this isn't hard just time-consuming, I meant it. OK, here's what will solve the problem. You're not the first ones to encounter this when substituting 21st century technology for mid-20th.

COM(3) is connected to one end of both the bake and broil. It doesn't matter which.

The other. end of broil is connected to BRL(2) and the other end of bake is connected to BKE(1). Neutral, interestingly enough, is only used for the pilot light, stove light, outlet, and clock. Isn't that weird?!

But that's how it works. 

So - try that and it will work. Let us know - you're on the right road.

The pilot light also has one end to COM(3) on this thermostat and the other end to PL.

You'll get it - you're 'this close'!

No end goes to neutral with this thermostat.

It would have been much easier if you had had a complete wiring diagram to work with.

Give it a bit of time and I am sure you'll figure the rest out. You've done the really hardest, most challenging and time-consuming part of any range repair: That dratted thermostat. Good thing they are designed to last for 50 years....

Any insulation which was going to fall out probably fell out over 60 years ago. You'll do more harm 'fixing' it than leaving it alone. 

Rockwool insulation was used back then - an excellent choice, by the way, and not at all like the dangerous asbestos we all worry about today.

If it's absolutely troubling you, a high-temperature silicone (used to seal chimney joints) would work, as would a stainless steel bolt and nut - but, yikes! Not worth it.

Do ask questions, please - we all learn from these things and enjoy them. We are so not one of those forums which scream at people that 'that question was answer in 1937, please reference the archives and don't ask again'. I've left some radio repair clubs because of that nonsense - ask away!

Crosley was competing (and losing) against the very stiff competition of outstanding appliance makers at a time when consumers read and compared and discussed technical details most people today don't understand.

It's an excellent range and now that you know that there are replacement parts or solutions for every problem, there's no reason it shouldn't keep you happy forever.

One thing to think about, though. Porcelain enamel was very sensitive to lemon juice/vinegar/tomato juice in the '40s and early '50s. It wasn't until the end of the 1950s that we got really good acid resistant porcelain finshes - so, be sure to wipe up spills right away and don't use too strong of acids when cleaning. Ammonia based stuff (Windex) is your friend with these as is Jubilee Wax.

touch-up in various colors. I've mixed fingernail polishes to get the right tone and had that work well, too.

Well, this is a happy enough ending for me to express my congratulations to both of you!

Keven, you nailed this thing and walked Amanda through it methodically and in easy terms.

This stove was too pretty to give up on.  I'm so glad the important parts are working properly again!

Great job Keven, Amanda, and David!   It's folks like you that make this site so great!

Did all the hard work. Not having a complete wiring diagram is no fun, at all.

I could have been more concise, too - but, all's well that ends well. I suspect they'll get the rest worked out, too - this is what makes this site so cool!

Let us know how your future adventures go - oh, and you might just want to stick that new wiring diagram for the thermostat in the back of the stove - you never know!