From Kustomrama on FB We just received an email from Eddie Martinez's family informing us that the talented and legendary upholsterer passed away on December 24, 2020. Back in the 1950s and the 1960s, Martinez's business card could be found in the Rolodex of all of the greatest custom car builders. Barris Kustoms, Ed Roth, Dean Jeffries, Larry Watson, all drove spectacular builds that were topped off with one of Martinez's iconic interiors. Few kids back then had the money it took to have him upholster their cars, so they had to cross the border to Mexico to get cheap imitations. Earlier this year, while working on a story about Bill Whetstone's 1960 Ford Starliner, Bill told me that when he just got the car, before the Alexander Bros turned it into the Adonis, he drove it to California to have a custom interior done. "At that time, the guy that was probably the most famous of all was Eddie Martinez," Bill told me, remembering that Martinez was phenomenal with little one inch pleats. "If I could have afforded him, he would probably have done the interior. At that time, his interiors were probably 300 dollars, so I ended up going to Tijuana, Mexico." A Tijuana interior cost Bill about one-third of the price. Thanks for your dedication, Martinez. Our condolences go out to your family and friends. Be sure to check out our Eddie Martinez page on Kustomrama, and let us know if you have any good photos or stories of Martinez and his work to share. If you do, feel free to add them as a comment to this post. R.I.P Mr. Martinez: https://kustomrama.com/wiki/Eddie_Martinez
Condolences to his family. A revered name through the growth of hot rodding, and its history. Read about his work for years. May he rest in peace.
R.I.P. Eddie was a very talented upholsterer and also a real nice guy, Back in 1998 When I was getting my Impala upholstered (here in Mn) I couldn't find a decent white pearl vinyl. I called Eddie and he took time out of his busy day to tell me about the "voyager pearl" that he used from A1 upholstery and fabrics.....
One of my biggest regrets ... Somebody passed Eddie's phone number along to me at a car show (must have been back in the nineties), when I was getting close to finishing a build and in need of some guidance with the trim. I called and left a message for him, not even really expecting him to return my call. He called me back a few days later, and when I told him what I was working on, he lit up. We shot the shit for over an hour, and he was damn near begging to work on my project. I explained I was down in San Diego (he was up in LA) ... "I'll drive down with a trailer, and pick it up" he said. I told him; "I can't afford you" ... and he responded that he did a couple of these back in the day, and he just wanted to get his hands back on one again. He'd do it basically for cost of materials. I told him I wasn't quite ready. He said he'd wait. The conversation went back and forth like this for the remainder of the phone call. I ended up getting sidetracked with life, and we never did hook-up. Huge regrets ... RIP Eddie
Remember all those "TJ" upholstery jobs back then?-----They used inferior threads & stuffed cow shit into the pleats to hurry & get your bucks! I know Eddie did some work for Dick Scritchfield back then. Condolences to Eddies family.
Condolences to the Martinez family and friends in the passing of Eddie. A master of the craft by all accounts and many of you have the comfort of knowing and being reminded of his greatness...may he Rest in Peace... Regards, Stogy
Boy, 2020 just won't let up. So sorry to hear the news. Eddie had to be one of the best if not THE BEST upholsterer of all time. My deepest condolences to his family and friends. Vaya con Dios, Mr. Martinez..........E
I remember reading about his upholstery work way back when I was a teenager. His work was always top-notch. It seems that we are losing our mentors, idols, or what ever you want to call them. We will miss them, and hopefully remember them with respect.
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