Hey, Over the weekend I was sheckin' out the officially unofficial Barris 50s kustom "The Aztec" at the GNRS in Pomona California. 'first time I had ever seen the car in steel and paint, almost wore out the floor around it, eyeballin' it. The metal! the paint! every- thing fit like it was designed that way, but can someone tell me about the upholstery? The Nylon/Rayon copper coloured, crushed velvet on the seats & overhead can't be the same fabric "Frieze- type velour" as used by Bob Houser of " Carson Top " fame, on it originally? Given the car's colorful history after it left the Barris shop, a sample of the original fabric probably wasn't available when Barry Mazza Restored it. Does anyone know the story? Thanx, Swankey Devils C.C. "Meanwhile, back aboard the Tainted Pork"
and while we're at it who had the seizure while striping it? gorgeous car. sat in front of it for two days. that interior was intriguing.
The original material was taken from a bolt of material that Bill Carr and George Barris had aquired for drapes in the house they shared in Hollywood. It was a copper "frieze" material , very nappy and popular in the late 1950's. I had one color picture taken at the 1957 Portland car show, where the Aztec made its first public finished showing. I had the picture inlarged and then contacted antique furniture finishers and found this material in a book. Its as close as I could get after looking at tons of swatchs. On the down side, the Upholstry shop where I got it from is out of business. The upholstry was done in my garage , I bought a German sewing machine. I used the entire bolt, have no extra if something happens. As far as the stripping goes, it was done "exactly" as Dean Jefferies did it, blips and all. If you look at the original car pics as much as I have over the years ,"NOTHING WAS PERFECT". Its restored to 1957 condition.
I feel like such a bigshot, I just went to FL and bought a trailer from Barry. Nice guy. Welcome to the HAMB Barry. The coolest thing is that he told me when the car comes home, he plans to DRIVE it everywhere!
Without a doubt, one of the greatest customs ever built. Hats off to the owner and the original builders for giving us this piece of history.
And Barry's one of the nicest fellas you could ever hope to meet. Too bad it won't be at our show on Saturday.
Id like to second that Barry ..especially for all that you have given to the kustom aspect of the hobby over the years.I have always been facinated with the story of the Aztec and how you never gave up on your desire to get and restore the car...my hat is off to you!!! Steve
Hey Barry, My post wasn't ment as a jab at your build and the results thereof, and I hope it didn't come across as such. I can only guess at the amount of time and money it took to bring The Aztec back to life. Trying to find 50+ year old fabric, and workin' from old photos had to be a major pain! Thanks for restoring The Aztec, as it was in '57, and not '87. View- ing it, to me, was like seein' "fine art". As for the striping, anyone critical of such should take a good look at most of the "names" in the business in '57. Dutch's work on the Barris shop truck, from this era, looks like he did it blindfolded! Swankey Devils C.C. "Meanwhile, back aboard the Tainted Pork"
Hey Larry. You should talk Barry into bringing the Aztec to the Showdown. Hey Barry. You should let Larry talk you into bringing the Aztec to the Showdown. I LOVE that car!!!
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