[xafalcon]

I have bought a second Hellcat, but it is probably not going to be able to be registered for road use in New Zealand (where I live). There was some paperwork missing when the car was imported into NZ in 2017. The previous owner has tried ever since to obtain the correct documentation from FCA, but with no success

So I bought a cheapish A8 Hellcat, and I'm investigating all options

The car is far too good to dismantle for parts - only 2800 miles and well optioned. It still smells like a new car

Can anyone provide me with some info about swapping all the Hellcat parts into a regular challenger donor car?

Questions that come to mind are

1. Wiring. Are all challengers wired the same? RT, SRT, Hellcat
2. Manual vs auto. Any differences that would overly complicate the swap?
3. Body mounting points. Are all challengers created the same?
4. What parts would need to be swapped?
5. 2014 and earlier vs 2015 and later models
6. Other ideas, thoughts, comments etc

TIA for any responses

 

[MJS73]

Here's my thought...get the paperwork you need to register the new one. This will be cheaper than the aspirin and hair replacement (from pulling it out) that you'll experience.

 

[Slowpoke387]

The VIN is stamped all over the body. Even if this was successful that would surely bite you in the ass at some point. An insurance company investigating a claim comes to mind. Once they see the wrong VIN everywhere things will go south quickly.

 

[baabootoo]

Secrets of Roadkill’s General Mayhem Hellcat Engine Swap (motortrend.com)

You need to watch these few episodes where they swapped a Hellcat INTO a 1968 Charger, then back out. You will see the mountain of wires, electronics, and the gas tank.......... Seriously, watch these episodes first.

 

[Slidd]

Yeah was gonna say, the engine and transmission have partial VIN derivatives laser etched into them so if they check, it won't match the VIN of the car. Don't know if this will be an issue for you in NZ or not.

Also, don't ever say body swap because that is definitely illegal. That infers putting the VIN from one car onto another body and that can never be done legally under any circumstance.

But swapping drivetrains you may get away with but you need to check before doing anything else.



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[coanan]

By a v6 version and gut it completely, then put everything, "everything" from hellcat into it if that is your only option. This has been done hundreds of times. Look up KahlSRT on youtube for one very good example.

 

[Turd McGavin]

Yeah was gonna say, the engine and transmission have partial VIN derivatives laser etched into them so if they check, it won't match the VIN of the car. Don't know if this will be an issue for you in NZ or not.

Also, don't ever say body swap because that is definitely illegal. That infers putting the VIN from one car onto another body and that can never be done legally under any circumstance.

But swapping drivetrains you may get away with but you need to check before doing anything else.



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you are not 100% correct, and you are not 100% wrong....Body swaps are not illegal, motor swaps are not illegal and your motor numbers do not need to match you VIN. If you wanted to you could even even change your VIN. In Michigan with would be done with a TR-54 form from the State, along with a major component sheet with the listed VIN's from all the donor cars from where you sourced your parts from. With that being, check you local laws that would apply to you.

 

[Slidd]

you are not 100% correct, and you are not 100% wrong....Body swaps are not illegal, motor swaps are not illegal and your motor numbers do not need to match you VIN. If you wanted to you could even even change your VIN. In Michigan with would be done with a TR-54 form from the State, along with a major component sheet with the listed VIN's from all the donor cars from where you sourced your parts from. With that being, check you local laws that would apply to you.

What VIN would you end up with?

The body swaps I'm familiar with involved a valuable car say a 440 Six Pack that has all documentation but is rusted out.

So the owner finds a rust free 318 car and moves everything over including the VIN plate.

This is 100% illegal as far as I know in every state and no way to make it legal.

Are you saying this can be done legally?


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[Turd McGavin]

What VIN would you end up with?

The body swaps I'm familiar with involved a valuable car say a 440 Six Pack that has all documentation but is rusted out.

So the owner finds a rust free 318 car and moves everything over including the VIN plate.

This is 100% illegal as far as I know in every state and no way to make it legal.

Are you saying this can be done legally?


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on a tr-54 you end up with an assemble vehicle VIN assigned by the State, on a body swap, you end up with the part of the body you use with the VIN....however you need to have you major component sheet (form sos-426) documenting both VIN's and how they were sourced. Going this route is not considered an illegal re-tag.

 

[Slidd]

on a tr-54 you end up with an assemble vehicle VIN assigned by the State, on a body swap, you end up with the part of the body you use with the VIN....however you need to have you major component sheet (form sos-426) documenting both VIN's and how they were sourced. Going this route is not considered an illegal re-tag.

OK makes sense but most are hesitant to do this as you lose the factory VIN.



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[Turd McGavin]

OK makes sense but most are hesitant to do this as you lose the factory VIN.



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you could keep the factory VIN, by using the body part with the VIN attached, cutting it out and welding it in the donor body, but the legal correct way is keeping that major component log. If your car is ever suspected of being a re-tag, because you have bodied it, your major component log proves that it is not. All car have hidden VIN's stamped in places thieves wouldn't know to look or think to look. With that being said if you were caught in an inspection and they check the hidden VIN and see it was different than your public VIN, your major component sheet would clear that up

 

[xafalcon]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I'll try and answer all questions in one reply

Maybe something got confused in translation from kiwi to American....

In NZ it is completely OK to re-power a car with a different drivetrain. We call it resto-mod when an older car gets a modern drive train and suspension etc. This is one of my plans - to buy a car that can be registered and do the Hellcat parts swap

It is also my plan to do the reverse-swap (non-Hellcat parts into the Hellcat chassis) and either sell as a track car or keep as a track car

The SXT doesn't have the right engine for a track car, so I eliminated this option. A track car would be best with a M6, and the Hellcat is A8, hence my question about auto vs manual differences

Wiring is a key question as it dictates how much strip-out must be done. In NZ our cars are typically max-wired from the factory. So the only wiring differences are small sub-harnesses that connect the main harness to major components like the transmission

My understanding is the 6.2 Hellcat engine is very similar to the 6.4 SRT engine but less so to the 5.7 RT engine. Would thus make the SRT the only option? Or could an RT work ok?

There was a facelift in 2015. How deep did this facelift run? So deep that the swap would be more than a bolt-in?

In NZ, the VIN is assigned to the chassis.

TIA for any replies and help

 

[xafalcon]

Here's my thought...get the paperwork you need to register the new one. This will be cheaper than the aspirin and hair replacement (from pulling it out) that you'll experience.

I will definitely be trying this. But previous owner tried for years and was unsuccessful. I'm not sure if he asked FCA the right questions. But the previous owner lost a lot of money on the car (about US$60,000), so I'm guessing he did try quite hard

 

[xafalcon]

The VIN is stamped all over the body. Even if this was successful that would surely bite you in the ass at some point. An insurance company investigating a claim comes to mind. Once they see the wrong VIN everywhere things will go south quickly.

I'm not proposing to swap in VIN tags. I'm thinking about swapping the Hellcat parts into a road-legal challenger. This is quite legal here in NZ

 

[xafalcon]

Secrets of Roadkill’s General Mayhem Hellcat Engine Swap (motortrend.com)

You need to watch these few episodes where they swapped a Hellcat INTO a 1968 Charger, then back out. You will see the mountain of wires, electronics, and the gas tank.......... Seriously, watch these episodes first.

Thanks for this. It will be helpful. I understand the size of the job. But if I do it, I could end up with a road legal low milage Hellcat for around US$35,000. For comparison, a comparable Hellcat in NZ costs US$82,000

 

[xafalcon]

By a v6 version and gut it completely, then put everything, "everything" from hellcat into it if that is your only option. This has been done hundreds of times. Look up KahlSRT on youtube for one very good example.

Thanks for that. I had discounted the SXT as I would also do the reverse-swap to create a track car that could be sold to recoup most of the cost of the donor car. But a V6 won't make a saleable track car

 

[Slowpoke387]

I'm not proposing to swap in VIN tags. I'm thinking about swapping the Hellcat parts into a road-legal challenger. This is quite legal here in NZ

Ah. Makes more sense now lol