Side Draft Carburetors - Super Street Magazine

After introductions Mizuno took us inside his shop space for a mini-tour. Although the facility was small it was jam-packed with rare vintage parts that were pouring out of every nook and cranny. Discontinued wheels, timeless stickers and side draft carburetors were chaotically placed throughout. The only portion of the shop that seemed to have some kind of order was the paint booth, which was currently occupied by a F30 Leopard awaiting some body pieces and paint. In a nut shell, there was more cool-per-square-inch in this little shop than anywhere I have ever been.

When the tour was over it was time to get down to business and I was eager to start shooting. As the guys moved the cars into position for photos I walked the grounds outside the shop to analyze some shooting angles. I started to take in the atmosphere of the location as I planned my compositions. A wall of half-rusted chassis was stacked alongside the exterior of the shop. The lineup included anything a Japanese classic car lover would kill for: Hakosukas, Kenmeris, S30 Z cars, S130 Z cars and even C130 Laurels were patiently waiting in their temporary resting spots until a customer of Mizuno's would come and pick their poison.

Unlike most tuners in the US, Mizuno offers a full build service including the donor chassis for anyone who wants to roll gangster. Of course these come at a high price but the chances of finding these cars on your own are very slim. Once you have your designated chassis picked out, Mizuno goes to work restoring and outfitting the car in custom body pieces, vintage rolling stock, classic engine builds and everything else needed to round out the build. He's sort of like the Walmart one-stop-shop for historic JDM.

I started off shooting Mizuno's green Z, his latest creation that caught my eye at TAS. Even if you aren't a car lover it's hard not to appreciate this sleek piece of machinery. The color pallet and wheel choice compliment the original design perfectly. Add in the fender flares, rear wing and unmistakable Mizuno Works fenders, and you've got an automobile that captures your heart upon first sight.

Once I felt I had sufficient documentation of the Z it was time to move over to the Skyline. I asked if we could move the C110 to the end of the street for a different scene. Mizuno-san was happy to oblige but informed me that my time would be short because the school bus would be coming to drop off kids soon. After a quick dusting, the car was fired up and my ears were met with a glorious sound that is a carbureted straight six.

As the car violently bounced down the gravel road I trailed behind with my gear trying not to breathe in the dust left in the car's wake. We were met at the other end of the road by a local farmer who had come to reap his crops. Mizuno-san was obviously acquainted with the man who spoke feverishly in excitement. As Mizuno later explained the man was curious what was going on, I suppose it's not everyday he sees a white kid with a beard and skinny jeans shooting old Japanese cars.

I was equally stoked to finally shoot this golden beauty. My heart was racing through the shoot as my mind tried to wrap around the car, how I wanted to capture it and the time constraints set upon me. I framed up my first shot and began to analyze the car. There was just so much going on, so many little details that set this car apart from the toys.

The wheels were possibly the most mind boggling of all the parts on the car. Those are 13X10''/13X13'' Techno Racings wrapped in equally rare vintage ADVAN race rubber. The sidewalls were cracking under the pressure from years of stretch mounting. I moved in for closer inspection and every last imperfection painted a story in my mind of the life these tires lived, much the way I'd imagine a palm reader guesses the story of a hand.

On the inside of the car I found traces of the owner everywhere. From charms and amulets to the decals and tuning parts there is charisma exploding from the cockpit. Never have I been so fascinated by the purpose and meaning of interior accoutrements. Some of the Boso trends are even downright comical, like the go-kart sized steering wheels and some of the decals I'm not at liberty to discuss. This really isn't a trend, it's a way of life and it has been for over twenty-five years, as long as I've been alive.

When the shoot finally came to an end I was sad but fulfilled. I had seen some incredible things most would never see in a lifetime and I learned more about this underground culture than any car blog could try to explain. All thanks to one of the most interesting car builders I have ever met and I couldn't even speak his language! Leaving the shop that day two things became very clear to me. Mizuno-san isn't going to stop building cars and the next time I'm in Tokyo my first stop will be a visit to the God of Bosozoku.