Mexican Blankets for Hot Rods and Custom Cars

A Mexican or and Indian blanket is an affordable, popular, and good looking alternative to worn out interiors in hot rods, customs, gassers, daily drivers, and beaters.

This is a traditional Mexican Serape blanket with a well-known color combination found in many traditional hot rods and customs. This blanket became very popular very fast in the 1990s. Click here to check price and available colors on Amazon.com.

A more toned down conservative blanket popular for hot rods and customs restyled in an early 1950s and earlier look. Click here to check price and available colors on Amazon.com.

An Aztec or Navajo styled blanket is an original and nice alternative to the traditional Mexican blankets for hot rods and customs. It costs a little bit more, but it will also make your car a little more unique. Click here to check price and available models on Amazon.com.

In 1941 you could order your Chrysler in a wide variety of interior colors and patterns. The best-known interior design of 1941 was a model called Highlander, which featured plaid seats and a plaid convertible top cover. A less known design was the "Navajo" trim, which was available in the Navajo and the Thunderbird option. Photo courtesy of Fiat Chrysler America’s Historical Services, from Autopuzzles.com.

A Pendleton blanket is also a nice alternative to the traditional Mexican blanket. Higher price. More unique, and an awesome look. Click here to check price and available models on Amazon.com.

Ted Sitterley's 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe of Tucson, Arizona. Ted ran Indian blankets in his coupe in 1955. "We all went to Nogales, Sonora quite often and occasionally bought the Mexican serape blankets for use in our cars," Ted told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama in 2021. "They were heavy colorful, and indestructible. You have probably seen some cars which were actually fully upholstered with them. Mine were just tucked in around the original cushions. I used them in the '32 and in my '39 and '40 coupes." Photo courtesy of Ted Sitterley.

A Swedish 1961 Chevrolet custom running traditional green and black Mexican blankets. Check price and availability on the same blanket on Amazon.

A Swedish Ford stationwagon running traditional green and black Mexican blankets. Check price and availability on the same blanket on Amazon.

A Swedish Ford Convertible custom running an Orange colorful authentic Serape Mexican Blanket. Check price and availability on the same blanket on Amazon.

The Orange Mexican Blanket used in the Ford Convertible above is a popular choice for red or orange cars, or cars with red or orange details. Click here to check price and availability on this blanket on Amazon.

Guides, Reviews & Recommendations

A Mexican Serape blanket is an affordable, popular, and good-looking alternative to worn-out interiors in hot rods, customs, gassers, daily drivers, and beaters.

The History of Mexican and Indian Blankets in Cars

Mexican and Indian blankets in cars go back to at least the 1940s. In 1941 you could order your stock Chrysler in a wide variety of interior colors and patterns. The best-known interior design of 1941 was a model called Highlander, which featured plaid seats and a plaid convertible top cover. A less known design was the "Navajo" trim, which was available in the Navajo and the Thunderbird option.

Mexican Blankers Were Cool in the 1950s

According to Howard Gribble, both Mexican and Indian blankets were commonly used to cover over aging and worn stock upholstery in the 1950s and the 1960s. "But sometimes seen over new custom tuck and roll as protection for everyday use. This was especially important in an era when most custom upholstery was partly or wholly white and showed even the slightest soiling. For cruising and car show display the blanket would be put away." In February of 2021, Howard recalled seeing brand new custom interiors where the owner immediately covered the seats with clear plastic covers. "So the seat covering was well protected but at the cost of aesthetics, it seemed to me." Memo Ortega could confirm Howard's story. "Yep we used em way back," he commented on Instagram. According to Memo a lot of guys used them to cover their worn-out seats, while others used them to cover-up their tuck and toll seats. "It was hard to keep the white tuck and roll clean." According to Memo you also used the blankets if you wanted to be cool.

In Texas Saddleblankets Were Also Commonly Used

According to Wes Richey the Mexican blankets were very common in San Antonio and South Texas. Saddle blankets were also common for people in the area that didn't have the money it took to get their interior done. Supposedly used since the 1940s, Wes saw a lot of them in the 1970s, usually in early 1950s cars belonging to hippies barbecuing at the city parks on the weekend. 1950s cars were cheap as dirt back then, and it was a cheap solution to bad upholstery in an old used car. In 2021 Wes recalled that folks crossing the border usually brought a few backs on their Tequilla runs.

Lowriders

Tom Walters first saw Mexican blankets in Chula Vista, California in 1968. "I was 10 years old and I had a grown-up cousin living there. We would go to the Safeway nearby every night to see the lowriders. They would cruise and jump their cars and drop the rear end and make lots of sparks. Some had flames coming out of their tailpipes. When we went to Tijuana with him I bought a real wool Saltillo blanket to put on the bench seat of my mom's 62 Pontiac Starchief."

The Big Comeback

In the mid-1990s Mexican Serape blankets became real popular in traditional hot rods all over the world. They became very popular very fast, and in 1994 Mr. Wolf used a Mexican blanket to cover up a bloody Nova in the movie Pulp Fiction. Mexican blankets are still popular in 2021. Not as popular as they were in the 1990s and the 2000s, but you still see them covering up beaten-up interiors in hot rods, customs, and daily drivers all over the world. Just as back in the days, they are also commonly used for protecting expensive custom upholstery jobs. Today many have become tired of the traditional Serape blankets, and they are searching out to find nice alternatives, such as Indian Blankets, Saddle Blankets, or Pendleton Blankets.

Alternatives to Mexican Blankets

• Navajo and Aztec Blankets
• Pendleton Blankets

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