Upgrade a 401 heating system?

[ahaugland]

I just purchased a Bristol 401 which had been modified by a previous owner with a blower motor controlled by a separate switch that fed into a split duct and into each of the air intakes for the heater. The original mechanism relied on airflow created by forward movement of the car to push air through the heater matrices. The blower motor theoretically should allow you to keep constant heat independent of motion. I can't say yet really how well it works as I am still sorting out a couple of things in the car. The entire assembly mounts in front of the radiator, potentially shrouding the top section of it so I also don't know what impact it will have yet in hot weather. The system has, however, been on the car for at least the last fifteen years, through the last three owners and several thousand miles so I'd suspect that it works OK.

--Alex Haugland
Eugene, OR
USA
1953 Bristol 401