AARON KEECH’S ALL-MOTOR 20B PP RX-3 BUILD

f you’re heading to the drag strip this coming summer, you’ll want to pack some decent ear plugs, as Aaron Keech is set to storm the strip in his latest RX-3 build. This time, he has ditched the boost in favour of an all-motor 20B peripheral port (PP)–powered RX-3 coupe; and you can rest assured that it will be low and loud. With no boost on tap, and only a limited amount of power-making ability from the naturally aspirated (NA) three-rotor, a big focus has been on keeping weight to a minimum, saving grams wherever possible — the shell is currently undergoing some extensive chassis work at Auckland-based SMS Fabrication with this in mind.

The front chassis rails remain, although, from the firewall back, it’s all new steel work, including a nine-second-spec roll cage and new rear clip for the four-linked nine-inch, with modular alloy Strange head and axles. The brake package is a Wilwood Dynalite drag set-up, and the front arms have been custom-made at SMS Fabrication, again to save weight.

The engine is a MicroTech-controlled Curran Brothers Racing (CBR) short-crank 20B PP that will see revs singing out at well above 10,000rpm. Brent has also built an alloy intake manifold with internal bellmouthed plenum and 125mm Pro-Jay throttle body. The headers are equal length and as short as possible, with a megaphone exhaust obnoxiously poking through the front guard. With no mufflers and the expected rpm, it’s certainly going to be the type of symphony we can’t wait to listen to during the burnout. As it’s purely 0–400m focused, a small front-mounted fuel tank will feed the methanol to the six injectors, keeping plumbing to the bare minimum and as simple as possible.

A G-Force five-speed with an SDP Performance steel bell-housing and Direct Clutch billet will allow Aaron to pluck gears while keeping the 20B up in the rev range. The goal with the build is the New Zealand NA rotary record by dipping into the single digits and, all going to plan, ending up on the world’s top-10-fastest 20B list as the icing on the cake. Work is progressing at pace, and Aaron is planning to have the car out this coming season, all going well.