does anyone remember who manufactured the shaft and pumps used to install a clutch in place of the torque convertor in a automatic transmission?they were popular in the late seventies and early eighties before technology caught up with torque convertor design.these setups were sometimes referred too as a poor boy lenco.i rember that they used a modified standard transmission input shaft to drive a pump at the front of the automatic trans case to supply fluid pressure to the automatic trans.it also reguired that the auto trans have a removeable bell housing or be machined to fit a scattershield.i am currently building a 1977 mustang II for the strip and was wondering if this might be an even more consistent setup because of the clutch for launch and with todays technology in automatic trans internals,less chance of breakage.i remeber seeing a couple examples in car magazines from around the early eighties but don't remeber which ones.any help would be appreciated.  

Too much rocket science dude.A good converter that actually stalls where you want is more consistent than a clutch.Unles you want to spend a fortune on a multi disc pnumatic/hydraulic set up(spendy)and your making 1800 horse a good converter is the way to go.Or just get a liberty or jerico trans(spendy too)Not to mention the possibility of parts failure/over complication.The trannys you are referring too were used by Nash/studebaker and AMC as well as VW to name a few and most went out of vogue in the late 60's early 70's Ford had a C-3 trans they used in mavericks/comets/falcons that was as you describe.(they werent good for drag racing)let alone regular use.Nash/AMC referred to theirs as the "E"-stick and it mostly stuck(between gears)GM had the hydra stick and I cant think of the other names they went by(sometimers)sorry.Just my two pennies but If thats your bag baby!! go for it!!!  

Do a google seach on "clutchflite" some good info there for you.  

get a transbrake from summit.
http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?Ntt=trans+brake&N=700+115+4294908331&Ntk=KeywordSearch
best way that i know of to launch  with an auto. dont waste your time with a clutch  

Go for it, if you want a clutchflite get one.However,they do require a few mods to stay alive.A drag racer 'paul rogers ford capri' used one in the 80's with consistent 9 sec passes behind a 351 clevo in Australia.It was a significant departure from the factory unit,though.............And what a load of hog wash!Many drag racers use clutch/manual gearboxes with alot of success and cosistency!transbrakes and traction controls where made for the lazy rich man,who wants low ET's without really knowing the car or engine .Driving and hard launching a manual requires skill and practice. I've seen 8 sec 1/4mile cars using manuals.................But you're absolutely correct,in theory a clutch automatic trans is the best of both worlds.What else did you expect from CHRYSLER!  

"transbrakes and traction controls where made for the lazy rich man"
"And what a load of hog wash!Many drag racers use clutch/manual gearboxes"
do you smoke crack often? if you read my post, i said absolutely nothing about a manual transmission. it's common knowledge that a good driver with a stick can beat alot of autos. if you followed the link that i posted, you can see that a transbrake goes for less than $600. if it dosent come with a switch, you can get one for less than $100. show me where you can get everything for a clutchflite for less than a grand. if there was some magical ability of a clutchflite to beat any other auto trans, everybody would have one. i dont see many 7 second 800HP nissan motors with a homemade mechanical fuel injection systems at the dragstrips,so like you said, "in theory".  

if you want reliability buy a powerglide built to take 2500 hp and put it in your 500 or 600 hp car and it should a live a long time...
ford belhousings to fit a pg are around..

there area few good articals .. at sonnax.com including torque converter build info...like using later model fwd gm converter parts to custom build differnt stall converters. .. since there were so many differnt stall speeds available for the 125/440/4T variants from a 1.8L to a 300 plus hp northstar motor...

and it was b&m who mass marketed the clutch flites as far as i rembember.. there were clutch turbos also...

the front pump was driven by  a rotating assembly that fed through the throwout bearing and latched onto the 3 clutch levers..

a lenco is much stronger...and is more than likely a decendant of the clutch flight...same princable... less parts and easy to rebuild in 30 minutes between rounds...and able to handle the now 8,000 T/F motors