From my dad:
I met Tom Finn in 1967 after joining the Milers. Tom was running a 1947 Chevy coupe with his GMC six in it. The engine was equipped with a Howard log intake manifold with 5 Stromberg carburetors and the usual compliment of equipment. The coupe was flat towed to El Mirage and back behind Tom's '53 Chevy pickup with a 261 truck engine in it. It was a long tow to El Mirage on the Old Sierra Highway (I know because I rode back with him one time). The 14 Freeway hadn't been completed yet. Tom, Sally (wife, deceased), Tommy and Kathleen Finn lived in Sunland at that time. Tom was a Mechanic Foreman for LA Water and Power.
Tom and family moved to Sylmar soon thereafter (a few blocks from the epicenter of the 1971 Sylmar earthquake as it would turn out). Tom sold the '47 and was in the process of building a '38 coupe. During that time I got the idea to put Tom's GMC in Phil Cole's 1956 Chevy 150. The idea clicked and we went to work. We borrowed from here and there to complete the car, worked a lot of late hours and a lot of weekends. We were ready and going to Bonneville in 1971. We borrowed a trailer from a friend of Phil's in Montrose, loaded the car and arrived in Sylmar by evening. We finished loading up and departed. By this time the 14 was open. We arrived in Bishop after midnight and slept in a park. We arrived in Wendover the following day, got inspected and set up a pit.
We were able to qualify and ran record runs at least a couple of times that week. It was a great time for all of us. All that time and effort had paid off.
A little while later Tom and I bought Ken Logan's Studebaker and the GMC went in it. Tom built a 261 Chevy and it went into Phil's '56. With the two cars we ran XO/GC ALT etc, and the '56 ran XO/Prod. We ran both very successfully for a number of years and made a lot of friends along the way.
When Tommy was growing up he was an integral part of all of this, and so when it was time Tommy built his own car and he and Tom raced it. First a Vega and later the Monza which Tommy still has, I think. They first ran the GMC and later Tommy built a small block Chevy which ran very well. Tommy also built a 1951 Chevy fast back sedan and ran the 261 and later a 235. It was this car that Tommy crashed at El Mirage.
Tommy and his wife Penny have two girls, both of whom are grown. We occasionally see Tommy and his brother in law Kent at Speedweek, visiting around and seeing what's going on. Last time I saw Tommy was 2012.
Tom Finn was the one who got me interested in Vintage Engines, and the old technology. Tom was able to do a lot over many years on a budget because he made things, and kept fixing things in order to keep things going and knew how to get those old parts to work and make power.
Sad to see him gone.
