Words and Photos: René Vermeer
I feel as though it has been a long time since we first heard from Chopper, of Choppers Auto Body Shop, about the Mazda RX-3 station wagon project the shop is heading. That’s only half of it, though, as the wagon before you has been three and a half years in the making. Well, it has been around since 1973, living out its life in California, but the build under Zane Dykman’s ownership has been three and a half years of testing times, thanks to a certain pandemic.
When we first heard of the build, Chopper’s exact words were, “The owner wants it to be the best RX-3 wagon in the country.”
Our ears were on fire. It turns out we already knew the owner, but we can’t keep up with all his builds — so we’ve been following it ever since with monthly updates and words of encouragement (f#cking finish it already, etc.).
As we already knew Zane, we knew that he was a serious petrolhead, having built and owned countless cars over the years. In recent times, Zane’s flourishing business has enabled him to further his passion for cars. His builds have been getting built to a much higher standard than back in the good old days, and the demand for quality has grown tenfold. It had got to the point at which Zane did his research, phoned countless people in the industry capable of taking on a project of this calibre, and stumbled upon Chopper.
Chopper was not only keen to take on the restoration, he was tasked with and eager to handle the project management, to ensure that anybody else brought into the project would be up to his standards.
“They’re hard words to take in, as there are already so many bad-ass wagons in New Zealand,” Chopper told us, of Zane’s request to build the best RX-3 wagon in the country. “I came up with a bit of a game plan to try and achieve that for Zane.”
Obviously, a good starting point would be required, and Zane began the hunt for a suitable platform. He found a genuine RX-3 online.
“Some young guy down the line [with] an NZ-new RX-3 that got caught in a barn fire. This RX-3 got bought as a replacement. The father bought it for his son from California. By the time it got here, the son had lost interest. The car was pulled apart, but otherwise it was all original. It went on Trade Me and, after sitting for a while with nobody wanting it, I bought it.”
“They’re hard words to take in, as there are already so many bad-ass wagons in New Zealand,” Chopper told us, of Zane’s request to build the best RX-3 wagon in the country. “I came up with a bit of a game plan to try and achieve that for Zane.”
Obviously, a good starting point would be required, and Zane began the hunt for a suitable platform. He found a genuine RX-3 online.
“Some young guy down the line [with] an NZ-new RX-3 that got caught in a barn fire. This RX-3 got bought as a replacement. The father bought it for his son from California. By the time it got here, the son had lost interest. The car was pulled apart, but otherwise it was all original. It went on Trade Me and, after sitting for a while with nobody wanting it, I bought it.”
Chopper said that the wagon was originally left-hand drive, and they wanted it done right.
“We searched and gathered new right-hand drive parts from all over the country — some even from overseas. All second-hand parts were stripped and rebuilt. Most people just patch up the left-hand hole in the firewall, but we spent the time fabricating new sections of the firewall to look like it was supposed to be.”
Once most of the body fabrication was completed, it was time to mock up the engine and gearbox. With the decision to increase the displacement, Zane opted for a 2000cc triple rotor — you’re probably beginning to make the number plate connection!
“Initially, I had thought of going to something bigger. Chopper said I need to learn to walk before I try to run,” Zane laughed.
With the block and gearbox mounted, it was time to design the rear chassis clip — all around the size of wheels Zane wanted to run.
“We usually only tub cars that don’t have back seats and, as much as I tried to talk Zane out of the idea, he wasn’t going to let it slide, so everything we fabricated started to revolve not only around the rear wheels but also space for a back seat,” Chopper explained.
With the bulk of the fabrication work now complete, and the engine and gearbox in place, Chopper fabbed the exhaust and fuel tank in-house.
“Basically, we built as much of the car as we could before pulling it apart and sending it off to Charlie’s Custom Paint and Pinstriping.”
With the paint laid down, we got the first glimpse of just how epic this RX-3 was going to look.
“We used all top, high-end products from DeBeer and WPC. Our job was made easy by all the good work Chopper and his boys did. Our team got to work blocking and priming to make the body straight and the body lines perfect. After hours and hours of preparation work, I spent 13 hours laying down the custom grey colour followed by four hours of clear coat. The clear coat was then painstakingly hand-blocked back and polished to a show car shine,” Charlie told us.
In the shade, it looks like a solid grey similar to Audi’s Nardo Grey. However, as soon as the sun hits it, you’re met with metallic flakes and pearls; it totally transforms in different light — and no, Charlie isn’t telling you the paint code. Squeezed hard up under the rear guards are Work Meister CR01s measuring 16×10-inches — making use of the tubbing. Up front, 16×7-inch CR01s fill the guards nicely.
Zane’s RX-3 was not to be your usual classic rotary build, with max-reclined RacePro buckies and a monster tacho. No; Zane wanted the interior to match the exceptional quality of the rest of the build. Custom rear seats would be required to fit around the tubs. The team at David Shaw Custom Interiors spent countless hours on the interior. Pac Performance Recaro Sportster CS seats were made for the front, and the rear seats were moulded around the tubs, giving Zane the ability to take the kids out cruising in the future. Behind the Momo steering wheel sits a Haltech IC-7 to add a touch of modern tech, and the door cards have all been refurbished.
A dummy engine was fitted in the hole for fabrication purposes. Meanwhile, Anthony Hart (MBT Motorsport) was busy in the background building a monster. With parts sourced from all over, including Pac Performance NZ, Zane now has a peripheral-ported 20B between the strut towers, backed by a Tremec TKO 600 five-speed gearbox modified by Green Brothers Racing to handle the power the 20B is soon to put out. We’d love to give you power figures, but during this very cover shoot, Anthony Hart fired up the 20B for the very first time. That was special enough in itself — check out our Instagram reels to hear it! No doubt, once the engine is run in and tuned, it’ll be packing some serious power. Zane is already trying to purchase the number plate, ‘4DEEP’— if that gives any indication as to where this is going.
It has been a long time since we’ve seen such a ‘complete’ build. With emphasis, attention to detail, and the highest level of quality control, it’s safe to say that once Zane gets the RX-3 out and about at various events in the coming year, it’s going to be a game changer — just make sure to check what number plate it has when you see it. We aren’t confident the 20B will be in there too long.
It’s hard to fathom just how many hours have gone into this build, let alone the cost of a build of this level. When you see it out and about, check over the details — it’ll blow your mind!
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This article originally appeared in New Zealand Performance Car issue 300