Having a car built to your tastes is never a cheap proposition, and finding a reputable shop that lives up to their promises, and that won't rip you off can often be a gamble. In the car world, positive word-of-mouth advertising is the grease that oils the machine. Shops that are always busy know that a good reputation has to be earned and groomed. It's a form of currency that never devalues. When Patrick Lynch went looking for a place to have a Challenger Hellcat massaged, he didn't have to search long or hard. Based on the positive experience his dad had with his Corvette when it was being customized at Petty's Garage in Randleman, NC, it was a journey already half traveled. That level of trust was extremely important to him in the whole process. Due to his work commitments, he couldn't be the guy who comes to the shop a few times a week to check on the status of his car. Most of his time is spent working in the United Kingdom, so this Hellcat build was literally phoned in.

The foundation the guys at Petty's had to work with was a brand spanking new 2016 Plum Crazy Challenger Hellcat with just 65 clicks on the odometer. From the other side of the pond, Patrick had initiated the whole process by tracking it down and purchasing it at a dealership that was near the shop. He was looking for the full Monty on the Challenger, which meant more power, better handing, custom graphics, and an interior upgrade, and at Petty's they know a thing or two on how to ratchet things up on Mopars.

Once the car was delivered, it all came down to taking what was already there and improving on it. With 707 horses on tap in stock Hellcat trim, moving the power band north was the central focus of the build, however, at Petty's they know that once you slide the bar forward, it also means that other components need to be reinforced. Beginning with the power plant, for the guys in the engine shop, the almost virginal Gen-III Hemi that came with the car was the perfect starting point. No molestation or abuse meant it was like cracking open a new crate engine. All it needed was stronger internals.

See all 42 photos It doesn't get any more deceptive than this. Anyone lifting the hood will think this Hellcat Hemi is bone stock and only has a mere 707 horses. There are no subtle hints that over 1,000 horses can be unleashed from its 426 stealthy cubes.

Starting with the stock cast-iron block, Petty's swapped out the factory crank with a Manley Pro Series stroker 4340 forged steel unit that pushed displacement to 426 cubes. They also installed Mahle 9.5:1 2618 forged aluminum pistons and Manley Steel H-beam connecting rods. The factory cam also got tossed in favor of a custom grind piece spec'd at .613-/.620-inch lift, and 227/235 degrees of duration. From there, the top end also saw a list of changes. While the A356 "Apache" aluminum cylinder heads were retained, they were treated to extensive porting and polishing. The factory hollow stemmed valves were also swapped in favor of Manley Race Series stainless steel intake and exhaust valves and PSI beehive valve springs. The rest of the valve train was also beefed up to handle the extra power.

For the forced induction side of the equation, many would opt to replace the factory Hellcat IHI supercharger with a suitcase-sized blower, however, Petty gets it done with an ATI Super Damper 10-percent overdrive harmonic balancer and a Metco 2.65 supercharger pulley mounted on the stock factory IHI-sourced blower. Better breathing goes hand-in-hand with more horsepower, which also requires less restriction expelling spent energy, and while the stock Hellcat exhaust system is quite efficient, Petty's has found that Kooks high-flow cats and mid-pipes mated to a Magnaflow 3-inch Competition cat-back exhaust system is the ticket for pushing things up.

See all 42 photos Here you can see the mounting points for the Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings. These help reduce wheel hop under hard acceleration. Also note the G-Force Engineering half shafts which easily swallow huge amounts of torque through-put.

Surprisingly, backing up the additional ponies is left to the stock Hellcat 8-speed 8HP90 TorqueFlite. Based on their experience with the numerous builds they've done, they feel that the unmolested automatic is more than capable of handing the additional power. While that's the case in the shifting department, the Hellcat is notorious for the dreaded rear-wheel hop when you nail it, and adding more power just magnifies that problem. From a builder's perspective, the challenge is to eliminate the wheel hop while maintaining real-world ride quality.

Petty's multi-faceted solution to remedy that issue was to reinforce everything behind the transmission. They started with a one-piece aluminum driveshaft from the Driveshaft Shop. From there, they dropped the rear cradle and swapped out the factory cradle bushings with a polyurethane set from Energy Suspensions. They also replaced the factory half-shafts with a set of G-Force Performance 31-spline Outlaw axles. These are machined billet steel units that are good for 1,500 horses and mate right up to the stock Hellcat IRS housing shod with 2.62:1 gears.

See all 42 photos Out with the plastic, in with aluminum. The in-house fabricated rear spoiler is a nod to Petty's NASCAR roots and their fabrication capabilities. The bonus is that it not only looks good, but it actually works at speed with additional downforce.

The last piece of the wheel-hop remedy was to add their fully adjustable rear coilover suspension and adjustable 22mm sway bar kit in conjunction with a rear shock tower brace. The same treatment was executed at the front with the installation of their adjustable coilover suspension, adjustable 35mm sway bar kit, and single strut-tower brace tucked behind the blower. The addition of the front and rear braces stiffens the chassis to help counteract the increased torque stress on the unibody. How confident are they with this setup? Will Cheek of Petty's Garage, states: "Our suspension setup is a perfect combination for both street and track use. We offer this suspension package with a warranty on our website for any third-generation Hemi car."

All the mechanical work wasn't the only thing on Patrick's laundry list. The rolling stock that comes on the Hellcat is both attractive and functional, especially when it hasn't been flogged to death, but they too were tossed in favor of Petty-branded ForgeLine three-piece wheels and Continental ExtremeContact tires. The front wheels retain the standard 20 x 9.5 factory size, while at the rear they grow an additional inch with a set of 20 x 10.5 units, which allows for a wider tire to further facilitate rear bite. The choice for the Continental skins comes down to having a tire that hooks up better than the OEM Pirelli P Zeros, and still retains a blend of dry and wet road performance. You might say that hooking up is really the underlying theme with all the suspension upgrades.

See all 42 photos The factory Hellcat interior has been largely retained by Petty's Garage—upgraded Katzskin seats with Petty's Garage embroidery, and Richard Petty's trademark signature on the dash being the exceptions.

Moving over to the visual side, the Hellcat has quite a presence, and one dressed in fresh factory Plum Crazy paint is nothing short of pure eye candy, so it almost makes you wonder what could be done to improve on that. How about a set of stripes? That's exactly what the guys at Petty's did on Patrick's Hellcat, however, they didn't just slap on some cheap vinyl and call it a day. They did it the old-fashioned way and painted it all on, right down to the Petty's Garage logo at each flank. Why go the extra mile? Will Cheeks says, "It's just a cleaner look." Taking that one step further, they also removed the plastic looking front chin spoiler and rear lower fascia and sprayed them to match the Plum Crazy body color, while the hood was painted gloss black. All this fresh paint was then sealed in clear and buffed. At the tail end, the plastic rear Hellcat spoiler was also removed. In its place they added a NASCAR-flavored rear spoiler. It's a fully functional piece that is made from .125-inch aluminum stock and is supposed to add rear down force at speeds as low as 60 mph. They're handmade in-house by the same guys who craft the sheet metal on the race cars, and if you want one for your Challenger, they'll sell you one right from their website.

The last piece in this makeover was the interior, which like the rest of the Challenger, was as fresh as the day it rolled out of the dealer's showroom floor. It might be a bit of a head scratcher that it would also get replaced, but it did with another offering from the Petty's Garage catalog. Their Katzkin leather package comes with double-stitched seams and the Petty's Garage logo embroidered on the seat.

See all 42 photos The addition of a rear shock tower brace has a profound impact on the structural rigidity of the chassis. Combined with the front brace, body stiffness is greatly enhanced, which allows the extra power the engine is laying down to be delivered in a more even distribution.

At this point we stop looking at all the trim and get down to the bottom line, which of course means crunching some real numbers. The stock Hellcat is a beast, and we didn't even mention the Demon, simply because when we photographed this car, the Demon was still a cartoon on SRT's website. With that in mind, on the dyno the guys at Petty's pushed Patrick's Hellcat over 1,000 horses and 920 lb-ft. of torque at the flywheel on 110 octane unleaded race fuel running one of their custom performance tunes. They also did some pulls running 93 unleaded with a milder tune and managed 925 horses and 875 lb-ft. of torque. Those were some pretty stout numbers, which verify the need for all the additional driveline upgrades. Now all that needs to happen is for Patrick to come back to this side of the pond and enjoy his new mount!

Want One Too?

If you like Patrick Lynch's Petty-built Hellcat Challenger and want one of your own, you'll be happy to know that Petty's Garage can build one for you. You can supply your existing Hellcat Challenger or Charger, or buy new like Patrick did. Got a 392 Scat Pack, SRT8, or 5.7L Hemi that needs more oomph? PG can do those too, and to whatever level your heart desires. We also discovered first-hand that Richard is in the shop virtually every day, putting his stamp (and signature!) on everything from classic Mopar restorations to the latest Hemi projects. Give Petty's Garage a call today and have them build one for you!

Fast Facts

2016 Dodge Hellcat Challenger

Patrick Lynch; Miami, FL

ENGINE

Type: Gen-III Hemi Hellcat stroked to 426 cubic inches

(4.095 bore and 4.050 stroke)

Block: Hellcat, cast iron

Cylinder heads: Hellcat/Apache cast-aluminum ported and polished

Rotating assembly: Mahle 9.5:1, 2618 forged aluminum pistons, Manley steel H-beam

connecting rods, Manley Pro Series forged steel stroker crank

Camshaft: Comp .613-/.620-inch lift, 227/235 degrees duration

Valvetrain: Manley Race Series intake and exhaust valves, PSI beehive valve springs,

Hellcat 1.65:1 ratio rocker arms, Trend Performance 5/16-inch pushrods,

locators, retainers, locks

Induction: Hellcat 2.4L twin-screw IHI supercharger with 10-percent overdrive ATI

Super Damper, Metco 2.65-inch supercharger pulley



Quad Tip exhaust

Ignition: stock Hellcat coil-on-plug

Cooling: factory Hellcat

Output: 1,015 hp and 885 lb-ft of torque at the flywheel on 110 unleaded race fuel

Built by: Petty's Garage; Randleman, NC

DRIVETRAIN

Transmission: Hellcat 8-speed 8HP90 TorqueFlite, factory shifter

Driveshaft: custom one-piece aluminum from the Driveshaft Shop

Rearend: stock Hellcat IRS housing with 2.62 gears, G-Force Performance 31-spline

Outlaw axles, Energy Suspensions polyurethane rear cradle bushings

CHASSIS

Front suspension: Petty's Garage fully adjustable coilover suspension, adjustable 35mm

sway bar kit, front strut tower brace

Rear suspension: Petty's Garage fully adjustable coilover suspension, adjustable 22mm

sway bar kit, rear shock tower brace

Brakes: 15.4 -inch rotors and 6-piston Brembo calipers (front); 13.8-inch rotors and

4-pistons Brembo calipers (rear)



Wheels: Forgeline three-piece; 20 x 9.5 (front), 20 x 10.5 (rear)

Tires: Continental Extreme Contact; 275/40R20 (front), 295/40R20 (rear)

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