after getting an '84 Firebird Trans Am at age 18, and having to do all the work on it himself, he got a job at a shop that was focused on European cars, and after 3 years, moved on to Osaka to work at an old-school speed shop called California Racing.
While living in Osaka, Tsutomu built a private garage on his property. He also bought his dream car, a '70 Dodge Challenger R/T 440 from Kenji Okazaki, a famous Japanese Funny Car driver in the USA. Along with his Challenger, Tsutomu built a street/strip '71 Corvette for a client that broke a local speed record. The feat put Tsutomu's name on the map in the Japanese drag racing world.
After four years with California Racing, Tsutomu started his own shop in Osaka with the owner of the '71 Corvette. They named their shop Sleepers Performance and for the next four years built various street machines. However, he left this shop to work on another dream, opening a speed shop in his hometown in Wakayama. By the age of 34, Tsutomu returned to Wakayama to start Speed Research. Tsutomu came across this '72 Dodge Coronet when the previous owner asked him to check out the car before putting it out for sale. a 318, 904 and 8 3/4 car
http://www.hotrod.com/cars/featured/ccrp-1303-1972-dodge-coronet-no-gaijin/
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