Need to start looking a the code on github. Is it valid anyway? If Pavel actually committed compilable code on github it would make him look less bad after his disappearance.
Maybe he pulling a Satoshi Nakamoto....

To quote something Pavel said last month, "For god sake all code is released - take it and use it!"
Where to start?
C is definitely not my forte... but I did find this well known guide on how to clone altcoins:
http://devtome.com/doku.php?id=scrypt_altcoin_cloning_guideBasing yourself on this it could be possible to find what relations each file has between each other. You can build coin "from scratch". If code is good it should work with a couple of tweeks. Not a walk in the park. Need time and focus for this.
Also if you wish to create TurdCoin, or AssJuiceCoin, or BonerCheeseCoin, using this guide would be an easy way.
You will be able to list is on Bittrex and scam a couple of noobs and feel like a gangsta hacker (more like a little RAT).
Now you know how some of these small time crooks are doing it. Not geniuses...