For auto enthusiasts, there’s nothing quite like having your pride and joy immortalized in the pages of a respected car magazine. There’s a buff magazine dedicated to every automotive subculture. Having your custom car featured on the cover of a mag makes you an instant celebrity in that community of builders.
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The 1968 Chevrolet Corvette recently offered on eBay achieved that status in November 1975 when it hit the cover of Car Craft magazine. Now, this classic ’Vette is ready to hit the streets.
Widebody Mods for Endurance
Car Craft - opens in new window or tab. magazine - opens in new window or tab. was dedicated to high-performance street cars. As such, the publishers often built project cars to showcase new products and techniques. For example, in the mid-1970s, this ‘68 Corvette convertible went under the knife for a multi-issue project series.
Dubbed the Big Banana, the classic Coke-bottle styling of the C3-generation ’Vette was amplified with a widebody conversion inspired by the Greenwood racing Corvettes of the time.
John Greenwood - opens in new window or tab. was a racer and worked with Chevrolet to build the Corvette into an endurance machine. To field a car at legendary 24-hour events like Daytona and Le Mans, street cars had to be modified to handle high speeds for hours at a time. The Greenwood Corvettes became legendary. Wild fender flares covered massively wide tires, giving plenty of traction for racing all night long.
Builders translated these body modifications to the street, turning Main Street into the Mulsanne Straight.
As Smooth as Banana Cream Pie
This ’Vette looks like it could fly, but its performance is civilized. While a stroked 383ci small-block V-8 - opens in new window or tab. is no slouch, it was paired with a three-speed Turbo 400 automatic transmission - opens in new window or tab., and a relatively tame 3.08:1 rear-end ratio. Unfortunately, that setup means this car isn’t going to light up the drag strip.
However, the seller accumulated a trove of goodies showcasing the Big Banana Corvette’s history. After Car Craft, a dozen or so vintage magazines featured this very car. Those magazines are included with the sale, as is a set of classic American Racing wheels that would have been on the car back in the day. It gets even cooler. The Hot Wheels cars that are inspired by this awesome modified ’Vette are also part of the package.
It’s been nearly 50 years since this car was built, so it has seen better days. The seller notes that it was mechanically restored. The paintwork was redone to near original condition, including custom hand-painted pinstriping. The seller also refers to it as a “driver restoration,” so it may not win prizes on the Concours.
None of these minor shortcomings undermine the unique backstory and magazine connection for this Big Banana Corvette. Nearly every passerby will stop and stare. But, even with nobody around, this striking wide body would be an absolute joy to take on long drives with the top down on warm summer nights.
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This article is meant to provide general guidance only. Automotive maintenance, repair, upgrade, and installation may depend on vehicle-specifics such as make and model. Always consult your owner's manual, repair guide for specific information for your particular vehicle and consider a licensed auto-care professional's help as well, particularly for advance repairs.