TUNING JAPANESE

AARON RETURNS TO MIZUNO WORKS TO FIND IT’S NOW A FAMILY AFFAIR, WITH TRADITIONAL SKILLS AND PASSION PASSED ON TO THE NEXT GENERATION OF MIZUNOS

Mizuno Works is a name synonymous with low-slung ’yotas and striking a balance between extreme and tasteful modifications. As the original Mizuno-san grows older, Aaron meets the next generation — Kazuki looks set to continue a level of craftsmanship that’s unrivalled the world over.

Treasured heirlooms may be more than the objects we usually think of, traditions and skills passed down through family history are just as valued.

On a narrow back road in Saitama sits a house above a workshop, nestled against a narrow waterway. A faded-green concrete pad and a wooden bench seat sit next to a roller door, slightly opened to reveal the rear of a Kenmeri Skyline. It’s within this humble workshop that a true artist lives, and he’s passing on a dying art form from one generation to another.

Shintaro Mizuno’s love for classic kyusha has become a way of life, and his son, Kazuki, could possibly be the luckiest 19-year-old in Japan. The Mizuno Works story is one of rags to riches. At the age of 18, Shintaro Mizuno didn’t have money for an expensive car, so he bought an old van for $100 and resorted to lowering it and performing his own customization to make it cool. Fast forward a few decades and you are looking at a family

business that honours a customization genre, which had its heyday over four decades ago. Mizuno-san is undoubtedly the best in the kyusha business, and his level of craftsmanship is untouchable. Now his son has the same passion for traditional old cars that his father does, and what you are looking at is the beginning of a family legacy.

Sitting out front of the workshop were two Toyotas that caught my eye, and I quickly learned that they were owned by Shintaro and Kazuki. Both the 1980 GX61 and 1982 GX71 Grande sit on the Toyota Corona MkII platform, and, in true Mizuno Works fashion, they ride low, with handfuls of ‘ hippari stretch’ in the wheel department. Kazuki was beaming from ear to ear, and eager to show me the GX71, which is his personal ride, but what made it more impressive was that it was his very first car.

The Japanese have it tough, as obtaining a driver licence can only happen when you hit 18, so Kazuki had spent his time leading up to the driving test modifying his MkII with a little help from the best in the business, his dad.

While the modifications are extreme, they remain tasteful, which is a hard balance to strike. These cars aren’t just low, they are insanely low, and will peel cat’s eyes off the road, while the hippari stretch on the tyres will make your eyes pop. “That’s the way a real kyusha should be, they aren’t meant to blend in,” Kazuki said, laughing.

Both cars had the inner arch heavily rolled to eliminate any sharp edges, as there is plenty of rub happening when they turn at any intersection, and surveying the details reveals a few beautiful touches that really make the cars. A pair of Pioneer TS-X8 parcel shelf speakers, a tsurikawa handle that knocks you in the head every time you turn left, a custom wooden Mizuno Works wheel, and a super plush velour interior instantly transport you back to the ’80s, when these cars were straight out of the factory, only a whole lot meeker and milder. Nowadays, they both sit staunch on SSR wheels, Mizuno-san’s sporting Focus 5s, while Kazuki runs a set of Focus Racing wrapped in Bridgestone rubber.

Despite both cars being quite extensively modified externally, underneath the aggressive-yet-classy skin they are relatively standard. Both sport their original straight-six engines, now mated to a signature exhaust and header combo that delivers a nice raspy tone to the engine note. These cars are purely ‘boso cruisers’, and while they do wallow around on the road, and make enough noise to wake the dead, the smile that adorned Kazuki’s face was priceless. I couldn’t help but think to myself how happy Mizuno-san must be to see first-hand how his own passion towards kyusha is reflected by his son.

There is no denying that when the car bug bites, it bites hard, so it seems natural that Kazuki would continue in his father’s footsteps. When your teacher is the best in the business, and your family name resounds throughout an entire genre of automotive tuning, you seemingly owe it to dad to continue what he started. Not that Kazuki will need his arm twisted too hard to make sure that happens. This dying art form seems to be in very good hands going forward.

they instantly transport you back to the ’80s, when these cars were straight out of the factory