Crown Jewel | 1972 Toyota Crown Coupe
Words & Photography Luke Ray
This article first appeared in Fuel Magazine issue 24.
Jogjakarta, Indonesia. October 2016, It was the last few hours of the trip, the Pinky Banditos Holden lowrider ute shoot was in the bag and there was still just one last car to shoot. Victor’s Crown had caused quite a stir on our social media over the Kustomfest weekend. That, combined with the fact that I loved it as soon as I first saw it, meant that I didn’t delay organising a post-show shoot of the car. Victor arranged to meet us at the same place as Bintang with Pinky Banditos and we slipped in a quick shoot before a mad dash to the airport and just (yes, really.. just) making the flight home.
Who are you and what do you do?
My name’s Victor Wirawan. I work in property development.
Are cars are a hobby for you? How many do you have?
I have ten cars at the moment, all classics but all different styles.
What are we looking at here?
A 1972 Toyota Crown. I bought it two years ago but it was not in good condition. The electrics were burned out, the engine wasn’t running. I bought it from a friend from Tamarang, near to Jakarta who couldn’t take on the restoration of the car.
Is it an Indonesian car?
Yes, it’s an Indonesian delivered car.
What was your vision at the start of the project?
I have memories of these cars from when I was young. My father had a Crown similar to this, but a four door. He used to drive me to school every day in that car. In recent years I had been looking for a car almost the same, a four door Crown, but I could not find one. When my friend offered this car to me I bought it as it was the next best thing.
Why did you choose to modify the car in this style?
I had an overall vision of the style that I wanted. I spent time online looking for influences... Google, YouTube etc. I also have a friend who helped me source various parts such as the wheels, flares and other accessories. He is Alstein Automotive Design in Jakarta, near my home.
In what condition was the car when you bought it and what needed to be done?
The body was generally good, so we didn’t need to replace any panels. It just needed a thorough tidy up for the new paint.
The wheel arches, spoilers... Were they made specifically for you? If so, what was the process? Were they made by hand or made from templates?
These parts were all made by hand specifically for this project.
What’s under the bonnet?
The engine is a 3.0l twin turbo 2JZ inline six from a 1988 Supra. It has an HKS blow-off valve, custom intake and intercooler piping and twin turbochargers.
Is the interior stock?
I wanted the look to stay original in there, but I upgraded to black leather which my friend Nuvrino, trimmed.
What's the name of your car club, how many members and what's your position? Did you start the club?
We have the Indonesia Muscle Car Club that I founded in 2015. This is a community on Facebook and has already gathered more than 1,000,000 followers. We also have our own event every year.
Specs.
1972 Toyota Crown Kujira
2JZ engine with 4 speed auto
Blow off hks
Custom radiator and cooling system
Custom coil springs
Custom shock absorbers
Toyota Aristo braking system
Custom stainless exhaust
Velg Rota RKR 17" wheels; 8.5 and 9.5
Wood steering wheel
Leather interior by Nuvrino
1973 Celica mirrors
Follow Victor: @musclecar_indonesia.
