Finish Line Speed Shop Builds to Give Back

You could make the argument that all of us should give back to our communities, even if it’s just a little bit. Most of us would like to, but the execution sometimes goes by the wayside. How can we contribute? What can we do that can make a difference? In the case of Lyon and Jennifer McClenahan, owners of Finish Line Speed Shop in Bremerton, Washington, the answer was simple: build a car. But wait, this is Street Trucks, right? Don’t worry, we’ll get there.       

Back in 2015, the husband-and-wife team decided that they wanted to build a charity car for the SEMA show. They heard the story of Steve Connor, a disabled veteran who dreamed of building a ’67 Dodge Dart, so the couple worked their magic and made it happen. They built a killer car, debuted it at the 2015 SEMA show, and then gave it to Steve. Everybody was happy, and it was a great time. Lyon noted that the process restored their faith in humanity. 

One of the builders on that car was Mark Cain, who suffered from ALS. For the uninitiated, “ALS” stands for “amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,” but it’s more often referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease, after the famous baseball player who suffered from the condition. It’s a 100% fatal disease, with no known cure. So when Mark was diagnosed, he knew the end result; nevertheless, he pressed forward. He built the headers for the Dart, and just a few weeks after the show, he succumbed to his illness. 

The idea to build something in Mark’s honor didn’t come right away. Lyon needed time to process what happened, and building a SEMA truck is no small feat, particularly if you’re starting from scratch. But the team decided that doing it again would be a good experience for everyone involved, so they reached out to some of their sponsors from the Dart project to see if anyone was interested. The positive feedback was tremendous, and Lyon soon realized that he could make it happen. That’s when the plans for the MC-10 were set in motion. 

There are a lot of square-body trucks out there, as Lyon is well aware. But for the past few years, he’s had a ’75 long bed with 75,000 original miles. He had tentative plans to make it a short-bed and drop an LS engine under the hood. Now it would be the basis for the new project, but Lyon still wanted to do something different. It was important that the stance was right, and the right motor was a significant requirement. But there were other things that they had to do to stand out; he just had to figure out what they were. 

By the time the job was done, there were two major things that put this truck in a class of its own. First, the trim was color flipped. If you look inside the body moldings, instead of being black on the inside with chrome on the outside, it’s the exact opposite. The remaining trim that was chrome has also been blacked out to maintain the theme throughout. It’s a nice touch that’s both subtle and impactful. 

The second is inside the bed. When you lay out a truck, you either have to raise the bed floor to cover the notch, or cut out the bed for the frame to come up through it. In this case, Lyon and his team did both. They raised the bed floor to help, but they still wanted to keep access to the chassis in case they had to make repairs. The resulting fix was a stroke of genius that came to fruition just two weeks before the 2016 SEMA Show. 

First, the floor was raised, as we already mentioned. In its place went the stainless steel trim panel that some Chevy truck models have along the tailgate, just underneath the handle. In fact, they kept the Chevrolet badging and the tailgate handle in this setup, which looks odd until you figure out what it’s for. Then they took two 1975 Chevrolet hoods and combined them to form a cover over the notch. That cover is hinged just like a stock hood, and to open it, you use the tailgate handle in that stainless steel panel. It even uses the original hood latch. We’ve never seen anything like it before, and it certainly stands apart from the crowd. 

When the build was done and the truck was taken to SEMA, it got a ton of attention, and did its job to help raise awareness for ALS research. After taking it to a few shows across the country and appearing on PowerNation TV, they put it up for sale at the Mecum Auction, and in the end they gave a big check for more than $15,000 to the ALS Association, Evergreen Chapter. 

With two builds down, the question is obvious: Will they do it again? Absolutely. Their latest project will be ready for the 2017 SEMA Show, and it already has the support of many of their sponsors. In fact, more than 15 from last year’s build have returned, and 10 have been onboard for all three. It’s just more proof that giving back is always a good thing. Sometimes all you have to do is build a truck. 

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