T om Bender was telling the truth when he told his employer’s estate he planned on restoring his ’29 Dodge DA sedan. Then out of the blue a Hemi became available, and it showed up in Tom’s garage. He could hear the sedan late at night calling out “Hemi.” He tried to tell the little Dodge no, but everyone involved knew it was a great idea, so plans changed…how did they change! The old Dodge has been stuffed full of Hemi, chopped up and down, its sheetmetal sold off, and what was left has been coat- ed in hot rod suede. It may be a long way from Tom’s original plan, but once he had a new plan, he stuck to it, sweated the details, and it shows in the results.
The chassis is the OG Dodge Brothers chassis that’s been boxed, and Tom built a custom center X- member, custom front spreader bar mount, and left all the cool frame holes. The front suspension is the stock I-beam (dropped), the original parallel-leaf springs (de-arched), GM disc brakes, Vega cross-steer- ing, and hydraulic shocks on Speedway mounts. The rear suspension is a posi Ford 9-inch with 3.50 gears, sits on the original parallel-leafs with reversed eyes, uses the big Ford drum brakes, and has Speedway hydraulic shocks. The reason for the change in plans is the 331ci Chrysler Hemi sitting
64 AUGUST 2025
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker