Cooper Smith’s 2003 Toyota Crown Majesta: Not Just a Car But an Automotive Emporium
Cooper Smith took his inspiration from the burgeoning US and Japanese custom car scenes when he masterminded his unique Toyota Crown, a machine that had me saying ‘Wow!’ aloud when looking at the photographs – and that was just the exterior.
Back in the day when the term ‘gin palace on wheels’ was used disparagingly of cars such as Cadillacs and our own Holden Brougham, I don’t think anyone ever imagined an actual car being equipped with 40 X 20cm tables and a chandelier!
(All images courtesy of Cooper Smith)
Cooper set his sights high. ‘I just want to build a car that is so different to everything else in Australia and blows people’s minds. I saw one person in USA who had created an unbelievable machine, and I said why can’t I do it. So I did it and put my own twist to it.’
When he says that the most expensive area on the car is the boot, you begin to get the point of the project. Inside is not only a rocking sound system, but a waterfall – yes, you read that correctly, a waterfall!
Cooper took delivery of a mildly modified black 2003 Toyota Crown Majesta in August 2018 and the following year began what has turned out to be an immense transformation. The donor car was black with cream trim. It had lowered suspension but still wore factory alloys. Somewhere along the journey, this Majesta had acquired maroon accents in the body-kit which were not to the new owner’s taste.
The Crown Majesta was Toyota’s domestic flagship, built on a longer wheelbase and with differentiated styling.
This S170 third-gen Majesta was produced from 1999 to 2003. The engine was a later edition of the IUZ 4.0-litre V8 used in the original 1990 Lexus LS400. Only special ‘10th Anniversary’ editions examples introduced in 2002 were available in black with black leather. Lesser versions were available in black but had contrasting lighter-coloured trim. (Cooper had to do some research to match the hide used in the 10th Anniversary versions.)
The Majesta is highly regarded in its homeland as a big, plush cruiser with a diverse range of optional extras, such as a refrigerator. In general, Japanese cities are heavily congested – Tokyo almost unbelievably so! – and speed limits are low, so perhaps it is not surprising that many custom cars are designed more for show than for go and look fabulous standing still in your shed or even your loungeroom. ‘The Crown suits me to the ground,’ says Cooper.
As a teenager – and he’s still only 25 now – Cooper was already into cars like the marvel he has created; visiting Japan only increased his passion. ‘There, slammed, heavily modified, big-cambered machines are prevalent,’ he says.
Cooper cheerfully admits that the 12 or so degrees of negative camber is ‘just absurd’; race cars boast negative camber to enhance handling but on this car the motive is purely aesthetic – and the result was not easily obtained. A company called Dead Trend Fabrications, owned by Cooper’s best mate Simon, fabricated custom front upper control arms. There are also aftermarket adjustable toe arms. The rear upper control arms, the degree of castor, and even the sway bar links are adjustable. Shortened, tilted uprights yield more clearance and camber. The coil-overs were supplied by MCA Suspension, who sponsor Cooper.
Even though this is principally a show car, the suspension has been thoroughly engineered because Cooper Smith would settle for nothing less.
The engine bay is a masterpiece. Cooper and a couple of mates (Kurt Ackfield and Ryan McBeth), pulled the engine out and replaced it with another one he bought that was already fitted with twin Blitz superchargers bolted on top. There’s a set of PPE headers and a straight-through big-bore exhaust culminating in a quartet of outlets. They took this opportunity to repaint the bay to a very high standard, complete with purple flaking.
But despite boasting a massive increase in performance, the Crown has never been dyno-tested, an exercise which would be beside the point. When he does take the wheel, says Cooper, ‘I don’t drive it like I stole it.’ So the standard five-speed automatic transmission remains. But to ensure the car can negotiate driveways there is a very special type of limited slip differential, known as a ‘1.5’.
Much of the paintwork is original but Cooper entrusted his Majesta to TSX Auto Styling in Nerang for refurbishment and they were responsible for painting the bars to match and adding silver highlights. Both bumpers feature additional mouldings.
The moulded rear flares were already on the car but Cooper has added the three-piece Junction Produce rear wing. The B-pillar chrome covers come from the same producer.
The body-kit is Mode Parfume Phantom. Mercedes-Benz W204 fog lights have been added to the front. Cooper sourced Crown headlights from Japan which change colour as do those in the rear which were sourced from JStyle Space Designs in Melbourne.
MCA Suspension supplied the BBS LM rims. Cooper converted these from two-piece to three-piece and sent them to the US to be re-chromed. The fronts are 19 X 10 (with 26 offset) and the rears 19 X 11 (six offset).
The mind-boggling interior is more emporium than car. The undoubted and astonishingly literal highlight is the chandelier. ‘You see this sort of stuff in Japan,’ says Cooper, who was deeply impressed with many of the custom creations he saw there but even more so by how they were wrought: the Japanese custom car scene is passionate and extreme. Cooper chose a chandelier from Beacon Lighting, cut the headlining and installed the unit solidly to the roof via a bracket, then re-installed the lining.
There are small cocktail tables, front and rear. The one in the front is a VIP model from a company called Garson which specialises in ultra-luxury options. In the rear sits an Okashi VIP. Both tables are finished in piano black and the front one incorporates purple flake to match the accents on the double diamond stitched door pillars. Floor mats from Garson are embroidered with patterns to match the front table. Junction Produce neck cushions, pillows and curtains are also included.
As for the Crowning glory, that is undoubtedly the waterfall. As the water tumbles and the tail lights flash in changing colours, you feel as if you should be paying an entry fee for the performance.
We strive in this Member Spotlight series to focus on brilliantly creative machines. Cooper Smith’s Crowning Glory (my name) is certainly among the most radical creations I have had the privilege of describing.
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