Brian Omatsu’s Purple Rein
Words by Ed Solt & Photos by Mark Kawakami
Taking it back to an era of bros and hymns, the early aughts, I was a young teenage surf cat who had been smitten by earlier South Bay times. On my way to work, Vons #2273 in the Riviera Village, on the corner, I saw a palomino 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente with a for sale sign, $1600. After selling a $500 1972 VW Bug for a profit to a girl in Pedro (the only time I actually probably made money flipping a car in 25-plus years of old car ownership) the Comet was mine. I remember feeling so bitchin driving my Comet to work.
A co-worker of mine, Brian Omatsu, who was way above my pay grade for many reasons, shared my stoke. When I say above my pay grade, I mean Omatsu’s much deeper connection to car culture – which he humbly kept to himself. Through the decades of car shows and swap meets since my cheerful employment at the supermarket, I came to realize how great Omatsu’s connection to car culture truly is. Now, when I run into his 1951 wildly painted and chopped Merc, “Purple Reign” with my kids, I get giddy, maybe flex and brag to the kids, “Yeah, I know Brian.”
“What if Larry Watson continued painting on early 1950s Kustoms in the mid 60s”
I understand a statement might be little over the readership’s “pay grade,” at least for those not into old cars –but when interviewing Omatsui, it was a statement we seemed to simultaneously say at once. We cherish this Kustom Kulture, and hopefully I can inspire some to do a google search.
Even to the novice’s eye, Brian’s Merc is something wild. A piece of American raw iron, perfectly sculptured to a new dimension complimented by avant garde almost art deco panels compliments of Julio at Dreamex Body and Paint in Harbor City (who hopefully reads this and, maybe might give me a deal on my rusty ‘59 Galaxie, although editor-in-chief McDermott might say this is unethical…shhh). A chop on a 49-51 Merc, this model is as American as apple pie. Another local legend in car culture, Jack Field, seamlessly made the roofline lower – like it was meant to be from the factory — and massaged panels to smooth the lines so Omatsu’s Merc moves without motion – seamlessly and slick on PCH.
To obtain Omatsu’s holy grail of classics, he let go of a sweet ‘55 Chevy ala Bob Falfa from “American Graffiti,” a couple of Pro Streeted out Novas, and a ‘50 Merc a tad more rockabilly-ed out – flat black, shaved, with a 1950 desoto grill for teeth ornament
To sand off the cracking bondo and get the raw steel of the story, Omatsu’s pursuit of the perfect Merc that takes lineage from another Japanese American owned Kustom – the prototype of all Kustom Mercs, “Bob” (Robert Masato) Hirohata Merc (displayed in Washington DC at the White House in a glass enclosure) as inspiration. For Omatsu, from a third generation Japanese-American South Bay family, this represents heritage. The raw project of what would become the Purple Reign was a passing of the torch from a good friend of Omatsu’s, Yonny Koyama.
“Yonny owned this car since the late-’80s,” Brian says. “He put it in the shop about 25 years ago. We used to visit it and talk about where we’d take it when it was done. Unfortunately, he passed away about 12 years ago, before it could be finished. I decided to complete the car in memory of my friend.”
Omatu’s perfect Merc is the hit of all local shows and has had the privilege of being shipped to Japan to compete in the Mooneyes Japan in 2024, winning Best of Show.
