convertered lenco?

what are the pros and cons of the different types of converter driven lencos?
lencodrive ?,donovan torquelink?, bruno lenco?
I'm looking for good or bad feedback on each!

 

bruno/lenco

i can only give answers on bruno/lenco combo. it releases extremely fast - i run 1.17 in box on a 5ths tree. it is easy to work on the lenco since it comes out and the bruno stays connected (easier to swap trannys, repairs to lenco or swap from 2 speed to 3 speed lenco). with the bruno you can adjust the pressure thus effecting the hit when it leaves - i have seen as much as 300 rpm adjustability. you need to run a good tranny cooler - i have heard but never experienced problems with the tranny fluid getting too hot. i also run a temp gauge and monitor the temps. the bruno also can come with a 1.25" input shaft for the converter - bigger than a c-6 or turbo input shafts. the bruno tranny brake is air operated - thus not effected by any fluid temps.

 

bruno/lenco

will makes a good point - my bruno/lenco combination starts to creep on the starting line on any rpms over 5000 rpm. i don't run a blower combination but it has gobs of torque - 1400 foot pounds from 4000 to 7000 rpm. i really have not heard any substancial negative things about either combination. all of the blower guys i race with run the lencodrives with their blower setups. i'm the only person in the group who runs a bruno. i've seen lencodrive people try to get their combination to leave harder (past 5000 rpms) by adding a line loc to the rear brakes with limited success (several broken brake rotors later). i believe this is because the bruno releases quicker than the lencodrive. if there is any noticable difference from what i have seen between the lencodrive and the bruno is the quickness of the tranny brake release on the bruno. since i run air pods on the lenco to shift the air source is readily available for the bruno tranny brake. if i didn't need to run air pods to shift - removing weight would become a positive consideration for running manual shifters on a lencodrive.

 

Lencodrive

Maybe Its Just Me, But Seems Like People Have To Work On The Lencodrive A Lot More Than A Bruno Unit. We Were Running Super Chevy This Weekend, Fellow Racer Had His Out The Car Like 4 Times..pump Issues. Couple Other Pro Mods Had Similar Issues.
Will How About Yours-harry's?
The Lenco Drive Is More Compact, Probably Lighter Than The Bruno.
Kinda Funny One Guy Was Talking About Converter Vs Clutch, Not Having To Work On It.... Then Has To Pull It Out To Put A Bandaid To Stop A Leak All Weekend

 

Been running a lencodrive for 3 years now and have yet to take it apart , adjust anything , or break anything . Have had to replace the front pump seal though twice and did have to take it out once this year due to what we thought was another leaking seal but it turned out to be the weld on the converter snout was leaking due to a poor weld .

 

what about the donovan unit ?what has anyone seen of them?
and thanks information so far!

 

You can use a seperate solenoid and use co2 to increase the holding pressure also use it to lock the converotr up down track. The lenco drive is nice but when they break it goes through everythin gin the case big mess. With the bruno it is seperate from the tranny. Just my 2 cents. sean

 

We just put in a Lenco drive

We just switched to a Lenco drive. We were running a clutch in our Out Law Street car. It was the same setup we had in the funnycar (526 Hemi 3 speed cs1 hd and a Hays steel hat 3 disc. We run some podunk tracks in the south and have to turn the car around in 45 min. The clutch was to hard to chase so we were going to put a Bruno in with are old trans. The problem came that Bruno's only have a Chevy bellhousing and our hemi has a TA\FC Vasco crank with no pervission for a converter hub. Neal Chance makes a cool set up to hook it all togather and move the stater to the passenger side away from the oil lines but it was $2000.00 bucks. After we sold the stuff we had we were able to put in the Lenco drive for about $3000.00 more less the $2000.00 converter (No sprag) (1.25 input) We had to fatten up the barrel valve at idle and switch from 4.10's to 3.89 but it has been great.

 

bruno/lenco

my bruno is 11 1/2" long of which the bellhousing is 6". i run a pnut 3 speed with reverser. it is 18" + 1" long for an overall length of 30 1/2". the lencodrive 3 speed + reverser is 25" long with a additional 7.2" for their bellhousing. it is 32.2" long. the lencodrive 3 speed with reverser is approx 108 pounds. the lencodrive uses cs2 parts. with a bruno you can separate fluids - synthetic oil in lenco - different viscosities in bruno unit. bruno makes a different bolt on bellhousing that is deeper thus making the overall bruno/lenco longer. the normal 6" bruno bellhousing will clear a coan 2 piece converter. several sanctioning bodies require the bruno + lencodrive bellhousing to be replaced with a trick titanium bellhousing thus running the overall cost up an additional $3000.00. more details to follow.

 

bruno/lenco

make sure if you run a box to install a spring loaded switch to kill the delay box. after your burnout the delay box has to be bypassed or you will destroy your reverser by shifting it into reverse and the delay box is counting time down. another thing to know - the bruno is basically in neutral on the starting line - if you race a track that the starting line goes up or downhill the car can redlight by rolling foreward or backward. several racers install line locks to hold the car from rolling - be careful to keep the bruno from releasing before the line lock does - instant parts distruction (brake rotors. internal lenco parts, etc). i've serviced my bruno several times and it is very simple internally. if you are going to remove the tranny brake hub you will need a press and a speciality snap ring pliers. you can call and talk with bruno sr or jr if you have any questions. i have found both of them to be very helpful. also keep a close eye on your co2 bottle pressure. low pressure will kill a run faster than anything. make sure to run liquid co2 not gas co2. the liquid pressure lasts much longer. i keep a mother bottle to refill my shifter/bruno bottle. i always have a spare co2 bottle available to swap out. i can get over 20 runs from a liquid co2 bottle vs less than 6 with a gas co2 bottle.