Words: Todd Wylie Photos: Deven Solanki
“It’s a love-hate relationship — you know you shouldn’t, but you can’t help it,” says Lance Andersen of his addiction to buying rotary-powered cars, and he should know … he’s had more than twenty Mazdas. Being of the age that he grew up in Hamilton in the 1980s, and got his licence in the mid 1990s, it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that Lance got into rotaries from a young age. One of his first ones was a 13B-powered 808 wagon that he scored for the princely sum of a grand. It was the build of that 808 that really got him hooked, and set the scene for years of rotary ownership. While the 808 may have been the catalyst, it set him on a path to own various RX-2s, RX-3s, RX-7s and even an RX-2 rally car, so, needless to say, he describes it as somewhat of a long term love-hate relationship.
The current RX-4 came into his ownership around five years ago, and now that he’s a little older, a little wiser, and a little bit more financial, the build progressed rapidly. Soon, the ugly wheels and the 13B PP were gone, replaced by some decent wheels and a 13B turbo, and the matte-black paint job was ditched and a fresh coat of gloss black applied.
Given the exterior was matte-black, it’s not surprising the interior wasn’t the greatest either. And, with three young boys these days, he knew he wanted to tidy it up. Rather than create something custom, his goal for this was to restore it back to a factory standard. That was no small task, but the end result is amazing. It would take a true Mazda guru to realize that the only difference from a true stock interior is that the factory seat pressings have been replaced with stitching.
Clearly, the plan wasn’t to put the rest of the car back to stock though; quite the opposite, as he soon enlisted the help of Mark from RES to fabricate a four-link to hang a Hilux LSD diff off. While he didn’t have a clear build plan from the outset, things seemed to all fall into place. A key component of that progression was already sitting in his shed, a 20B engine package. While it was in an RX-3 coupe, the other build wasn’t really going in the right direction, and by now he was both financially and emotionally invested in the RX-4. With this realisation, it made sense to send the 20B in the coupe’s direction.
The engine was the easy part though, as a set of mounts was all it needed to get it in — but we all know projects are never that simple. Instead, he decided to fit the car with a HGT Engineering six-speed sequential box. The HGT boxes are the ultimate for a high-end street car, but there was one drawback … the transmission tunnel needed a whole bunch of fabrication for it to fit. Leon Delacey was enlisted for that task before turning his attention to the body. This time around, the panels would be taken all the way back to bare metal and smoothed back to perfection.
The inspiration for the colour came from a mate’s Harley. “I had been bouncing new colour ideas around and after seeing the Harley, I immediately thought, f**k it, let’s do it that colour!” With how well the paint came out, he knew the motor needed to do it justice, and as it now produces over 450kW at the wheels on 18psi, he’s certainly achieved that with plenty more to play with if he wanted. That’s an impressive figure for a block that’s stock besides having extended ports. RES were again responsible for this as well as the fab work required to mount the Garrett G-Series G42-1200 turbo and Turbosmart GenV PowerGate60 wastegate. With a 3.5-inch exhaust running off the back and a 16-inch Spall electric fan on the custom radiator up front, the engine bay is surprisingly full, yet remains clean at the same time.
A Link G4+ Thunder ECU has been used to get it all running, and works in conjunction with Haltech IGN-1A coils. The fuel side of the equation is anchored on a pair of alcohol-ready 800hp fuel pumps and a Turbosmart FPR Kompact regulator. An AEM water and methanol injection system has also been fitted to keep the engine happy when the boost gets up.
To monitor the vitals, Lance chose to fit a Haltech IC-7 digital dash. The look of the stock interior with the sequential shifter and IC-7 is one of the things Lance loves about the car the most. Of course, the thing he loves the most, though, is the sound of the 20B pulling through the revs. He tells us, “There’s nothing like that turbo whine. On a nice sunny day, it makes me feel like a young buck again when I cruise around in it.” He’s been known to put on a show for those who admire the build, too, but only when driving through Mexico of course …
He tells us, “Driving it is a blast. With the Stage 2 extended port, it’s way more driveable now — you can cruise in sixth gear at 60kph, or you can slap it down into second and just floor it. It’s loud as hell, you can hear it from a couple of blocks away. The goal was always to make it drivable, and it definitely is, but while still making you buzz when it’s on boost!. The sequential gearbox is a game-changer — not having to use the clutch is priceless. It puts a smile on your face every time you drive it.” That smile also comes from the fact that it’s 100-per-cent street-legal, Haywire Motorsport having helped out with the cert process making it hassle-free from start to finish.
With so much love for the car, and it being such a quality build, maybe, just maybe, he’ll break his habits of selling cars once they’re done. Maybe it’s true love, and won’t be sold on any time soon!
SPEC LIST
1973 Mazda RX-4
Heart
ENGINE: Mazda long-crank 20B, 2000cc three-rotor
BLOCK: Factory
INTAKE: Factory
EXHAUST: Custom 3.5-inch system, ProMuff dump-pipe muffler
TURBO: Garrett G-Series G42-1200
WASTEGATE: Turbosmart GenV PowerGate60
BOV: Turbosmart GenV RacePort BOV
FUEL: Twin alcohol-ready 800hp fuel pumps, -8 fuel line, AEM water and methanol injection controller, AEM water and methanol injection system, 247 fuel pump carrier and bracket, Turbosmart FPR Kompact, Bosch 1300cc primary injectors, Siemens 2400cc secondary injectors, Radium Engineering fuel rail kit
IGNITION: IGN-1a Smart coils, MSD leads
ECU: Link G4+ Thunder
COOLING: Skeleton Welding custom radiator, Spal 16-inch fan, custom front-mount intercooler and piping
Drive
GEARBOX: HGT Engineering six-speed sequential
CLUTCH: Quarter Master 7.25-inch twin plate
FLYWHEEL: Chromoly
DIFF: Custom Hilux four-link, Trutrac LSD head
Support
STRUTS: XYZ-Racing adjustable coilovers
BRAKES: Pac Performance Wilwood callipers, pads and rotors, Wilwood brake master cylinder
ARMS/KNUCKLES: Pac Performance complete setup
Shoes
WHEELS: (F) 18×7-inch (+5) (R) 18×8.5-inch (-15) Work Meister S1 3P
TYRES: (F) 215/40R18 (R) 225/35R18 Falken Ziex ZE914
Exterior:
PAINT: R32 Skyline GT-R Gun Grey Metallic
Interior
SEATS: Factory
STEERING WHEEL: Factory
INSTRUMENTATION: Haltech IC-7 digital dash
Performance:
POWER: 450kW
TORQUE: 580Nm
BOOST: 18psi
FUEL TYPE: 98 Octane and water-methanol injection
TUNER: Mark Haynes at Revolution Engine Services
Driver Profile:
DRIVER/OWNER: Lance Andersen
AGE: 42
LOCATION: Hamilton
OCCUPATION: Developer
BUILD TIME: 1–1.5 years
LENGTH OF OWNERSHIP: Five years
THANKS: Thanks to Revolution Engine Services, for building the engine and sorting out the drivetrain and wiring, Haywire Motorsport for sorting out all the work and fabrication requirements to pass through cert, Capital Tyres for importing the Work wheels and sorting out tyres, and finally Leon De Lacy for all the body work.
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This article originally appeared in New Zealand Performance Car issue 313
