The parcel from France arrived today containing the rubber adaptor to fix between the 3″ blower intake and the approx 5″ air intake grille on the front wing. As rain is forecast this evening I used my lunch break to finish this job.

The adaptor is US made and branded ‘Flexseal’, this company has a UK web site but I couldn’t find the size I needed on there. This was worth waiting for, it is quality. Marked as 5″ Clay to 3″ Clay I guess it’s designed to live underground so I think it will outlast my needs.

The adaptor is a good snug fit and in the end I decided to fit it without the supplied stainless jubilee clips to aid removal in future as required. The standard series 3 duct on the output side of the blower was just a little loose so I wrapped a few turns of self-amalgamating tape round the spigot and warmed it a little to give some padding, it’s now a really good fit.

The plan comes together

It doesn’t happen too often for me, but in this case everything has turned out so well. The slotted holes in the bracket helped with installation and once adjusted for optimum position the bolts ended up right in the middle of the slots.

I got it positioned on the bulkhead so that the rubber adaptor was pushing up against the wing and tightened the Nyloc nuts before fitting the air intake.

I refitted the air intake to the wing, it’s a snug fit into the adaptor without requiring the jubilee clip. Finally I connected the air intake duct to the newly refurbished matrix. I had cleaned up the original wire-frame hose clip but decided the stainless jubilee clip supplied with the adaptor was better so used that on this end.

I made the electrical connections and switched it on and what a difference! I cannot check the heat as yet as I have the fuel filter disconnected pending a delivery from Craddocks and without the lower dash I’m just testing the amount of air coming through the bulkhead aperture, but it’s a massive increase. The 1.5Ω resistor seems perfect for the slow speed setting.

I am very pleased with the way this fitted. Now I have a more effective heater, with readily available and cheap spares if needed. Without craning the neck to look under the wing it all looks quite original. As a bonus, the much smaller blower unit can be removed from the vehicle very easily without the usual pain of either removing the matrix unit or loosening the wing top.

I will replace the hoses next and have a general tidy-up.