What do you do when youre hankering for a Hellcat but only have half the cash? Wed actually recommend against the labour-intensive route taken by YouTube channel D.I.Y GANG, which bought up a 2016 Dodge Challenger Hellcat that had been written off after being in a fire and restored it back to better-than-new condition.This isnt the first time the YouTube channel has done a massive re-build like this; their other videos chronicle them putting back together a McLaren 570S, a Jeep Cherokee Trackhawk and an Infiniti G37. The Hellcat, however, is their most ambitious restoration yet.The channels latest video, done time-lapse-style, shows the incredible work involved re-assembling a new car after removing all the ruined parts of the crispy Challenger which was pretty much every part except the floor pan.During the rebuild process, a few upgrades were installed, including an upgraded engine turning out Challenger Demon-esque horsepower numbers; a performance clutch; a custom paint job; and custom wheels.The entire build apparently took about nine months to complete. Even though most of the free labour came from the hands of the YouTubers own family, the build still cost US$39,492.16. Once you factor in all the parts costs and the time it took to do, theres no doubt this build cost more than just buying a brand-new Hellcat.Even though the car was totally rebuilt and painted, we still question the structural properties of the burnt steel. The Hellcat was subjected to the high, high heat of the fire for an extended period of time, which means the mechanical properties of the metals have changed. A loss of strength and stiffness could have very well occurred.At the end of the day, thats why wed not recommend considering this A-for-effort method of Hellcat ownership yourself: when youre building a burnt car, its going to cost more money than a new one, and it will never be as
Origin: Watch: This guy rebuilt a Dodge Challenger Hellcat that’d burnt to the ground