How to tell a 63 ZO6 Corvette?

[gulby46]

I recently purchased a 63 corvette. I think it may be a zo6 because of the master cylinder. I would like any other information I could verify this.
Any ideas on where to search or expertise would be helpful. Thanks!

well, the Z06 is a 363ci motor, break out the ruler. Also did you pay around $200,000, that tends to be a dead give away. J/K. The 363ci is true, and it should show up in the vin find a corvette club that can run it and there is a master list soemwhere that says which cars were the Z06s. Also this is a very very rare car, they are hard to just fall into. Almost all of them are catalogued, restored, museumed, not for sale, and the owners know what they are and would accidentally sell them.

[Jaguar D-Type]

Check here for information on the 1963 Corvette Z06

Three generations of Corvette Z06s

[sub006]

It had better be a split-window coupe. Out of about 200 built in '63, only one convertible has turned up.

If it is a Z06 with all original equipment intact it will have brake drums with cooling scoops and multi-segmented brake shoes. The self-adjusters will only work on forward stops, not reverse as is normal.

It will have a Rochester FI unit instead of a carburetor and a 6500 rpm redline on the tach.

It MAY have a 36 gallon gas tank. Many did, but it was not mandatory. Also, few of these cars have radios.

And don't listen to Skyline about the displacement. All '63's had 327 cubic inches. The five Grand Sports were 377 ci, maybe he was confusing them with the Z06 option.

He is correct that these rare cars are VERY expensive. With ProTeam and its competitors scouring barns and junkyards for the last 25 years it's hard to believe there are many left to be found. If you have one, even if all the equipment is changed, it's worth six figures to a collector who can convert it back to an original-spec Z06.

[1pmarlow]

My father had one that we restored here's things to look for

36 gallon tank (as mentioned early Z06 had them late year they were deleted went to a 32 gallon I believe)
327/360hp fulie
Positraction
Drum brakes were finned
Power booster had dual hydos
front springs were HD @550lbs/in ratio
front sway bar was HD@0.94 standard was 0.75
rear springs also HD @305lbs/in ratio
Knock off rims (early models had them some late year models did not)
None that I have seen had a passanger side mirror early year Z06 had a long base drivers side mirror the late year models had the same mirror found on the 64-67 vettes

thats about all I remeber for now

[sub006]

1pmarlow has some good information.

The 6x15 knock-off aluminum wheels are the subject of a lot of contradictory information. Early publicity photos of hand-built '63 prototypes had cast-aluminum knock-offs with TWO-eared hubs. The '63 catalog and advertisements showed the correct 3-prongs.

Knock-off wheels were on the 1963 order forms, but to my knowledge no '63 cars were delivered with them because the supplier (Kelsey-Hayes?) had quality or production problems. They became available for the '64 through '66 model years and many '63 owners bought and installed them. For that matter, so did some '57 Nomad and '65 Chevelle SS owners, among others!

The earliest memory I have of a '63 Z06 being raced on knock-offs was Ralph Salyer's in the fall of 1963. His car was memorable for having squarish fender flares and rear brake scoops. And knock-offs were available over-the-counter at Chevy dealers by that time, the last quarter of 1963.

Thus, surviving '63 Z06's may or may not have knock-offs today. Their presence is not a problem for most people; I consider them a "delayed option". But if a restoration is meant to represent the car as it left the St. Louis factory or appeared on the showroom floor, it should have 5 1/2x15 steel wheels, painted black.

Wonder if NCRS has a position on this question?

[1pmarlow]

we could ask nolan adams ? we did knock offs

[FourG63 97GST]

well I learnt something new today

[midas3]

I am having a hard time verifying Z06 options. I have had a 63 Corvette garaged for 22 years, and i am only now verifying the parts. I verified the positraction, 15 " drum brakes, (not sure what finned /scoop looks like) radio was an after market of about 2 or 3 years. , i have pictures of leafs but everyone around here is counting 7 and 9, muncie 4 speed' ' independent rear suspension, painted black steel wheels ( can someone id the photo on that to further verify?) heavy duty front springs. small mirror on driver side only, tank is hard to id size. what is the formula? thanks

[sub006]

Originally Posted by midas3

I am having a hard time verifying Z06 options. I have had a 63 Corvette garaged for 22 years, and i am only now verifying the parts. I verified the positraction, 15 " drum brakes, (not sure what finned /scoop looks like) radio was an after market of about 2 or 3 years. , i have pictures of leafs but everyone around here is counting 7 and 9, muncie 4 speed' ' independent rear suspension, painted black steel wheels ( can someone id the photo on that to further verify?) heavy duty front springs. small mirror on driver side only, tank is hard to id size. what is the formula? thanks

It's easy to identify a big tank coupe, the luggage area behind the seats looks different with the floor a few inches higher than a non-Z06. Just park it next to a known 20-gallon coupe and compare.

[PARTSMANCARLOS]

I have a complete set of 1963 z06 mint n.o.s.metalic brake shoes in the original genuine chevrolet boxes including the special break-in directions papers,if interested please reply to 603-744-7913..thanks,karl

[sub006]

midas3, I believe the Muncie trans was introduced with the '64 models. '63s should have Warner T-10s, the unit used for all four-speed Corvettes going back to 1957.

Some MAY have sneaked into very late '63 production, but most likely if your car has a Muncie, it was a replacement unit installed at some time after original delivery.