Top-Down Cruising

IN A WIDEBODY 1968 CORVETTE CONVERTIBLE

A little more fresh air and a lot more style

- Taylor Kempkes

If you are anything like us, you probably spent quite awhile just staring at the pictures of this 1968 Corvette before even thinking about the words. The wheels, the stance, the bodywork, the side pipes, the paint—it just looks right. It’s not an autocross monster or a dragstrip champ, but it does land right on the sweet spot of looks and all-around performance.

This wide body C3 convertible is the brainchild of Steve Enochs, owner of Muscle Rod Shop in San Antonio, Texas. Steve grew up in central California totally immersed in Corvettes, owning a half dozen in the first decade of his life. He got a lot of attention in central California in his early years as his first car was a 1968 convertible with a license plate that read VETTEKID.

As per usual, the cost of starting a new life and getting married meant selling his Corvettes. The cars were gone but his bug for American muscle never went away. Eventually, he moved to San Antonio, Texas, and in 2002 opened up his own hot rod shop, mostly building custom Mopars. Another decade passed and Steve decided it was time to get back into the world of Corvettes so he freed up some funds by selling his previous build. He started looking for a C2 but when a pretty good 1968 convertible popped up, nostalgia mixed with realistic finances changed his mind and he bought it.

With the revenue from his previous car, Steve started gathering parts and formulating a plan for his 1968. “I’m ashamed to admit,” Steve starts, “that I initially purchased the same old L88 fender flares everyone else runs and mocked them up before clarity set in and it was decided that a widebody build was needed.”