Hello Scott,
I had the same idea (buying a V8 Bristol) for years and never had any chance to drive one, but at the end I bought a 1966 409 (#7355) over the phone at an auction in UK and had been very pleased by it, though the rebuilding process was a bit long and complicated. You can find the history of the restoration here:
My Favourite Cars-Bristol 409
Personally, I chose a 409 because it's the last one with pushbuttons gearbox selector, 16" wheels and the Bluemels steering wheel; when I saw #7355 being auctioned I decided to buy her because it was equipped with the power steering (the first one so equipped by the factory, allegedly) and this is necessary for your confort.
You will find that there is no shortage of space in the interior, as Claude rightly says, nor in the luggage compartment: the Pasini family does never travel light (you can see an example of luggage for me and Anna for an extended week-end at the bottom of the page
Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015 ) and the 409 lets us carry whatever we need/want, so it's a great car for traveling, even long-distance. Seats are excellent, ventilation is much better than most comparable cars of that same era, performance more than adequate for today's highways.
My Favourite Cars-Bristol 409
Now that my 409 has been completely refurbished/restored, it's a great car; the mechanical restoration was troublesome until I found someone who is familiar with USA engines, then it was all OK. You will not have that problem in USA, of course, and this will make a V8 Bristol ownership a real pleasure.
If you make this purchase (409 or 410 would be my personal favorites, but I am sure that the 411 are excellent as well) I'd strongly advise you to have the cooling system refurbished at once, as the early problems of my 409 were related to much and dirt in this area; also it is mandatory to switch from the original crossply tires to the modern radials, as Claude said, driving with those tires is messy, as I discovered recently fitting Avon Turbospeeds to my 403.
If you ever need any help, please let me know sending an email to my sites' address, as I rarely check the forums' private messages. Cheers!
All the best
Stefano