8 DIY Project Cars Faster than a Hellcat

- Today there is a gold standard when it comes to affordable straight-line speed. I am referring, of course, to the Dodge Hellcat. (tires screeching) (engines roaring) Now I can't afford a Hellcat. Max can't afford a Hellcat. Neither does Joe. So the other day we were thinking: how could we afford to beat a Hellcat? So we put together a list of seven theoretical

project

cars

and one extra vehicle that could take out a Hellcat in the quarter mile. But here's the thing. You can build any of these for less than 15 thousand dollars. (Crack of whip) Today we are going to build, not buy.

I'm James and this is the D-List. Many thanks to Omaze for sponsoring this week's episode of D-List. Now it's no secret that we love the Dodge Demon on this channel. We talked about his story in Up to Speed. We reviewed it as a diary at the New Car Show, rest in peace. And we tell you how the fastest demon in the world worked in Bumper to Bumper. I even have a Dodge tattoo, although I've never owned a Dodge. So naturally, we were happy when Omaze contacted us to give away this 2018 Dodge Demon. - Hell yeah, Drunken Doug. - What are you doing here, Doug? - You called me.

I have to show up when you call me. I am a demon. That's one of those demonic rules. - No, man, I don't think I would ever summon you. - Not now? - No never? - I really don't see the point. - Never again? When? - Nobody wants you hanging around, Doug. You're annoying, you're rude. And I don't know if you know this, but we're moving forward. You're interrupting my work. - I understand, James. You want to hang out with the good Demon, the most powerful muscle car to ever come out of Detroit. (engine roaring) And this Demon is the only production car that has ever pulled a wheelie.

Old Doug will never be able to do a wheelie because I can't get on a bike because I don't have all my muscles. (cries) - Oh, Doug. And it could be yours. Simply head to Omaze.com/DonutMedia to enter for your chance to win. Tax and shipping are included. In addition, Omaze will also contribute $20,000 in cash. -Stop looking at old Doug. He is an ugly crybaby. - Plus, every donation supports an organization that means a lot to me, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. So don't wait, go donate today. And now back to the show. Why do your tears stink? - Let me be honest with you.

I could take care of myself a little better. - Well, just to be clear, the

cars

on this list can probably beat a Hellcat in the quarter mile, at least once. Now after that, we can't promise they won't explode. A Hellcat has air conditioning, power windows, a luxurious leather interior, heated seats, and air-conditioned seats, I'm sure. It's a much better daily driver. These guys just want to watch the world burn. (laughs) The first entry on this list is a baby named Giovanni Metro. He was also sold as Chevy sprint and Suzuki Swift, but everyone calls him Geo Metro.

So I'll do it too. You could argue that no one liked them when they came out and no one likes them today. In other words, they are cheap. One just sold for $709. That's as many dollars as there are hours on the Hellcat. Now you're probably wondering... Here, give me my laptop. How is this little baby (laughs) going to beat a Hellcat? Well, for starters, this little baby only weighs 1,500 pounds, which is about three Nolans when she was born. And let's get that little pot of three out of there. But what entrails will we choose for our compact little Frankenstein?

There are plenty of engine options that could take you into the tens in this little guy. But for this build, I'm going to suggest a certain 1300cc engine that you may know from a little thing called the damn Hayabusa. Hayabusa means falcon or something like that. (laughs) The Hayabusa engine puts out about 200 hsprs, which I know is nowhere near the Dodge's 707 horsepower. But here's the thing. The Geo Metro only weighs a third of a Dodge Challenger. So if you take that 200 horsepower Busa block, add a massive injection of nitrous, you can probably smoke a Hellcat on the dime.

Now, this isn't exactly the healthiest thing you can do to your engine. But all you have to do is win this race and you will get your son back. So, let's count the price here. $700 for the car, about $3,000 for the engine. You'll need to grease your knuckles a little and he may end up spending a few thousand dollars on some random parts. But here we are well below the $15,000 threshold. I think we're doing pretty well. - Honda Civic. - Everyone's favorite car has more potential than your dad thinks. Forget about the fact that the wrong wheels are getting all the power for an ideal drag racing setup because, with a little patience and a little massaging in the garage, you might be able to get your Civic to the track and take it home. a Hellcat pink note.

For this mix, we'll start with a sixth-generation Honda Civic. That's the one from the mid-90s, and he swaps in a K20 from a late 2000 Civic SI. K swaps are incredibly popular right now, and for a very good reason. You can find these motors everywhere at a super cheap price because they were put into a ton of things. They make solid power and are relatively easy to shift. And spoiler alert. This isn't the only K you'll see on this list. Alright? But this theoretical construction does not end only with an engine change. Did you really think it was going to be that easy?

Well, good job. You played yourself. To get into the tens and send that Hellcat home, you'll need to do some serious head work, not to mention some bigger injectors, a stand-alone ECU, ample opportunity for nitrous, and a heavy-duty clutch for driving. all that power. Believe it or not, the rest of the K20's internal components are strong enough to handle over 400 horsepower or more. We priced out the parts I just mentioned and the entire build, including the car. If you do the work yourself, you'll get around $10,000. Just think about the look on Jason's face when you open his ass with your failed all-wheel drive econobox.

You might be a little skeptical about a Civic beating a Hellcat. But go to YouTube and type in Civic beating Hellcat and you'll see this car. (engines roaring) - Eclipse/Talon/Laser. - We talked about these DSM triplets a few episodes ago and we talk about them again because we like to talk about them. I love these cars. They are from my childhood. I'm talking about the Mitsubishi Eclipse, aka the Eagle Talon, aka the Plymouth Laser. They are great cars and you can still find some of these guys on Craigslist for super cheap prices because they are ugly as sin.

You may have guessed it, but the reason these triplets are on the list is because of the robust 4G63 that lives inside them. This four iron banger was the same engine found in the Evo. And it can handle a lot of boost without even needing to upgrade the internal components like you would with most of our engines. Put a bigger turbo on it with the money you saved by not having to buy a bigger engine, and we still have some cash left in the budget, so we'll buy some slick tires, maybe some suspension, maybe, maybe some cams, maybe two really good ones.

And this thing will eat damn dismissal letters for dinner (bleeps) for seconds, (bleeps) for thirds. (bleeps) for dessert. Plus, you can get them with all-wheel drive, so you have all that nice grip for your launch. - Fourth generation Camaro. - It's the worst Camaro of all time. It looks like a fish. You'll never get roses with that crap. That's what people say every day about the fourth-generation Camaro. But people are finally realizing the incredible amounts of cheap power that catfish offer thanks to famous influencer Jeremiah Burton. (strong wind) (beeps) The good news is that they are still very cheap.

And if you opt for one post-1998, you'll be able to have LS power on your side. That's big boy horsepower, okay? There is a lot of potential. But the big dilemma is whether or not you want to put that Hellcat out on nitrous, whether you want a turbocharger or supercharger, or whether you want to go crazy with NA. That's pretty much the order of difficulty and cost, so we'll focus on the juice. A stock Camaro SS makes just over 300 horsepower. Let's give it a blast of 200 nitrous. If you don't know, that means we're adding about 200 horsepower of nitrous.

We might as well throw in some cameras and some headers while we're at it. We now have over 500 horsepower. We're not there yet, but the most effective thing you can do to go

faster

is to get lighter. And the catfish has kilos to lose. Rear seats, who needs them? Passenger seat, sayonara. Carpet, interior panels, doors, trunk, bye, guys. The last thing we'll need is a set of slick tires and an upgraded rear suspension to handle all that power, baby. Final count after the parts, not a bad way to spend $10,000. - Chevy S10. - The GMC Syclone with an S was one of the wildest trucks that ever existed.

With some modifications, it could beat a damn Hellcat. But there's no way you're going to find a Syclone for $15,000. Syclone people with S are cruel and know what they have. So if you can't find a cheap Syclone, the best option is to build your own Syclone. Finding a first or second generation S10 with a 4.3-liter V6 shouldn't be too difficult. After you get your S10, head to the junkyard and get a 700R4 four-speed transmission from a C4 Corvette because you're going to need it to handle the amount of power we're about to get. After that, upgrade the internal engine components.

I mean cranks, connecting rods, pistons and the whole shebang. Throw in a turbo and intercooler and we're basically ready to roll. I'm pretty nonchalant about saying, "Just upgrade the internals," but it's a lot of work. This is not exactly a

project

for beginners. And paying for this labor would be very expensive. So let's say turbos and forged internals aren't really your thing. (whispers) There is another way. Chevrolet doesn't just sell cars. They also sell engines, fantastic engines and good stuff. You can buy a reconditioned 454 big block for around $6,000 with a warranty from Walmart. Add some headers, turbo 400 transmission, pair it with a narrow 12 bolt rear end, fat rubies.

All that in a mini light truck, we're getting dangerously close to the $15,000 limit, but this setup will get the job done just fine. And you could even take this one home. - VW Beetle. - They made 22 million Volkswagen Bugs between 1938 and 2003. And it was invented by Hitler, so you don't have to feel bad about hacking one. And although the Beetle's power has more than doubled in its 65 years of operation, the 50 innocent little horses the Beetle managed to squeeze out of its air-cooled engine still aren't very impressive. It turns out that there is another company that makes a pretty good four plans.

These engines are not air cooled and rhymes with Bubaru. The Subaru EJ25 changes to the STI are quite common on the old VW platform. People put them on Bugs, buses, things, squarebacks, fastbacks, notchbacks, humpbacks. But even the EJ25 doesn't give us enough power for what we need it. So instead of the EJ25 we went with an EJ20 with a custom turbo from eBay set up like on Low Car because it worked so well last time. - Your good man? - No, Eddie, it's not right. What (bleeps) do you think, friend? Add some big ol' 1000cc injectors, and Jason will say goodbye to his pink card with his pretty, pink lips.

The complete Jason package, brains and brawn. This would be a good time to mention that you should probably spend a little of your hard cash on breaks or a parachute because Beetles aren't very good at stopping well. So what is the price? Well, let's say $1,500 for the car, $1,500 for a good, that doesn't blow up the first time you start the engine, $1,500 for the turbo from eBay and everything else, and we're like six grand. That's enough to pay someone else to install it for you. - MR2. - Everyone loves the MR2. But you don't usually see them leaving command times in the strip unless you watch the Boosted Boys, which I suggest you do.

They are the main reason I added this car to the list. In its stock form, the MR2 doesn't make much more than 200 horsepower. But remember what I said earlier about K-swaps? - This is not the only K you will see on this list. That's because we're launching a K24 in this bi... That's the engine Honda used in a ton of cars between 2001 and 2014. Compared to the K20, the K24 has more displacement and stronger internals. In other words, it's a little more robust. And we're going to need all the meat we can get. Head to your local store and grab your own, or you can even purchase it as a crate motor that's already built.

And since the MR2 is super light and mid-engined, we don't need much power to compete with the707 horsepower from Dodge. According to my extremely scientific calculations, around 400 should be enough. And 400 is definitely doable on a K24. The K24s sound really good. And the idea of ​​a swapped MR2 outperforming a Hellcat is one of the coolest things I can imagine. But I don't have to imagine it because YouTube exists. Google it. Just go see the Boosted Boys. This car does wheelies. We have reached the end of the list. We have one more vehicle. Technically it's not a car, but I don't even care because I hate rules, and this thing is so sick.

And I know what you're thinking: "Oh, it's going to be a motorcycle." Great, (laughs), you're not kidding us, James." Then I say, "You're totally wrong, buddy," because I'm not talking about a motorcycle either. I'm talking about a snowmobile. - A snowmobile? - Yeah. You are not from snowy places, you may not realize that these things can be very fast. Imagine a 1000cc V4 Vehicle that only weighs 700 pounds Now stop imagining it because it is real instead of a tiny rear end. .tire, they use a 15 inch wide track that puts down all the power at once. And I know it sounds silly, but the snowmobiles hitch hard and can go nine seconds and quarter miles.

I don't mean. into the snow. I'm talking about taking your Arctic Cat to the trail to smoke Hellcats. Snowmobiles are ridiculously overpriced and you can buy them much cheaper at the end of the snow season when everyone decides, "You know what?" I think it might be time to sell the snowmobile "We didn't really use it at all this season" since the boys went to college, huh? With about three thousand dollars to spend on a special rear track and suspension upgrades to make it road racing, these things start at the bottom. 11. But with a little adjustment, people routinely clock nines and even eight seconds in quarter miles.

Is going fast never cheating? And Jason certainly won't know what it is. the cheapest and easiest way to beat a Hellcat, period. If you want to talk to me and others, we have a Discord as part of our membership program. To learn more about it, click the join button below. I'll go ahead and put a link in the description because I know on some mobile devices it doesn't really work. Make sure you hit the subscribe button and the like button. It's the best way to know what we're doing. A good job. Oh, Donut, @DonutMedia. Follow me, @JamesPumphrey on all social media platforms.

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