Off the topic but....I've always wondered what a Lenco (4-speeds, as the Pro Stocker used to use) ate up in hp compared to a 4-speed tranny. Have never seen any comparisons.
Bro' James was always able to get the crews of visiting Pro Stock cars (1972-1974 or so) to talk to him in the pits at Union Grove WI's Dragaway. Once before the finals, Glidden vs. Nicholson IIRC, one crew man (Maybe Glidden's son?) was under the car, draining all the rear end gear fluid. Then, he proceeded to drain about a pint or so from the Lenco! Said they needed that edge to reduce drag while running near identical e.t.'s. Glidden won.
This move made sense to me as just how many revolutions would a ring & pinion make in a 1/4 mile. Not many although I would not recommend this seemingly drastic move!
I have a racing buddy, back in British Columbia, who races a high 8 second 67 Fairlane, and has raced it over the years with a Toploader, a Jerico 4 speed, a 5 speed Lenco, and a Liberty clutchless 5 speed. He told me that the Liberty was about 1 1/2 tenths of a second quicker in the 1/4 mile, than his Lenco. I don`t think there has been a competitive NHRA Pro Stock car using a Lenco in well over 20 years.
Hey thanks Rory! Had never seen a comparison before. And yes, the Lenco is certainly old school now but many a racer turned into Ronnie Sox on the easy shifting compared to 4-speeds of the era. And none of those OEM based 4-speeds lived long behind ever more powerful Pro Stok engines. The new breed of modern, all-new design stick trans, once they became available, buried the Lenco-type transmissions in door slammers at least.
