Courtesy Lites on a 1963 Z06

[Rick A.]

Folks,

Need to know if Z06's came with COURTESY LITES or not? The reason I ask, the wiring harness that we took out of my 1963 Z06 DID not appear to have them! The wiring harness was spliced with the courtesy lites! Also, where the courtesy lite would mount on the firewall it is NOT the correct mounting! The correct mounting is LARGER in diameter! There is nothing in any documentation that I can find! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The COURTESY LITES appear to be added AFTER MARKET and not factory installed! And, because of this I believe the Z06 DID not come with courtesy lites!

Also, were the seats adjustable in height? The seats that we have restored are HEIGHT ADJUSTABLE! Again, nothing in any documentation, but we believe this are the original seats by every indication!

[Loren L.]

I suspect that your courtesy lights are

spliced because some racer/bootlegger cut them out and a later owner put them back - if you theory were true, somewhere in the ZO6 section of the AIM there would be a reference to another wiring harness and a part #. Yes, the seats are height adjustable.

[Rick A.]

Re: I suspect that your courtesy lights are

Loren,

the problem is the COURTESY LIGHT assembly that should mount is larger than the hole that is drilled in the firewall! that is why I asked if Z06's came with courtesy lights or not.

FYI - the wiring harness that I received from Lectric Limited DOES NOT have the courtesy lite connection!!!!!!!

[Rick A.]

Re: I suspect that your courtesy lights are

Loren,

one other thing - a lot of the AIM for the Z06 was CANCELLED and/or the figures, etc. are unreadable!

FYI - my Z06 is a radio delete if that matters any!?

[Duke W.]

Re: Courtesy Lites on a 1963 Z06

Your Z-06 must have RPO U-2 Courtesy Light Delete, which was ONLY available if C-48 heater delete was ordered AND no radio option was ordered.

Real race cars don't need no stinkin' courtesy lights.

Duke

[Rick A.]

Re: Courtesy Lites on a 1963 Z06 - Loren/Duke - TH *NM*

[Duke W.]

Re: I suspect that your courtesy lights are

NO SUCH THING AS "RADIO DELETE" in '63! Since a radio was not part of any Corvette model base equipment a '63 without a radio is simply a "NO RADIO" car. A radio delete option did not become available until a radio became part of the base equipment package sometime in the seventies.

All '63 Corvettes have courtesy lights as part of the base equipment package and RPO Z-06 made no changes to the courtesy light equipment.

The big tank sheets of the Z-06 section in the AIM was cancelled because of the change to the Z-06 option in February that deleted the big tank from the package. The big tank was also a separate option from the beginning of the year on any Coupe, so it could could continue to be ordered in conjunction with Z-06 by ordering N-03, too. The Z-06 section big tank sheets are the same as the N-03 sheets, so the Z-06 section big tank sheets were simply stamped "cancelled" when the big tank was dropped as part of the Z-06 special performance equipment package.

At that point the only differences between a Z-06 and a L-84/M-20/G-81 coupe was the HD suspension components, and brake components.

Don't take this personally, but I don't understand the big deal made out of '63 Z-06s and their value. What you basically get is a rock hard suspension that's not suitable for street and highway driving and a brake system that doesn't work very well. The better all around driver including performance driving and track events would be a L-84 with the base suspension and J-65 brakes.

Duke

[Bill Jackson]

Re: I suspect that your courtesy lights are

Was the rear wheel well modification part of the big tank option only? In other words, would a small tank Z06 have the wheel well mods?

[Michael H.]

Re: I suspect that your courtesy lights are

Bill,

The wheel well modification was part of the N03 fuel tank option only and did not come with the later version of the Z06 option that did not include the big tank. A 36.5 gal tank equipped air conditioned 63 car I once had (17307) even had the modification.

Michael

[Robert Jorjorian]

The big deal is BIG $$$ *NM*

[Wayne M.]

Ditto my '65 SB Air Tank

Has both inner fender caps and special (trimmed) rear quarter panels. These mods carried right through to '67 with N03 option.

[Mike M.]

Re: Ditto my '65 SB Air Tank

NO3 owners: you all forgot to mention that all NO3 rear quarter panels were light tan/yellow in color since they were all modified(partial lip removal) in 1962 for their use thru entire c-2 NO3 production. mike

[David Van Weele]

Re: Not suitable for street driving, HA!

Duke,

What do you mean not suitable for street driving? I have been driving mine on the street since 1963 and have logged over 210,000 miles. Every one of those miles has been a pleasure. I look forward to each weekend so I can have more fun behind the wheel.

The car also made a great tow car for my race car and my four boat trailer while Stock Outboard Racing around the country. What car could travel the New York Throughway at 125 MPH with a boat trailer behind it?

I love a solid ride and the Z06 was the answer.

Best Regards
David Van Weele

http://www.z06vett.com

[Michael H.]

Re: Not suitable for street driving, HA!

David,

Bet if duke HAD a Z06/N03, he'd be on the other side of that fence. I too have put a lot of miles on a Z06 and I loved every mile. I've never driven another 63-67 Corvette that handled as well.

[Duke W.]

Re: Not suitable for street driving, HA!

I actually considered ordering N-03, but decided not too when I realized that it
consumed most of the luggage space.

I never had any problems with the J-65s including everything from wide street driving to race track hot lapping. Based on what I have read over the years
the HD brakes were less than satisfactory in all venues. In fact, the Washburn Team race notes indicate that they "downsized" to the J-65 system and brake
performance improved.

The base suspension is also adequate for everything short of the Daytona banking as long as it has decent shocks. My SWC is "firm" and I don't think that doubling the ride frequency would be of much benefit (except on the Daytona banking.) Back then the generally accepted theory of race suspensions was to
spring it like a go-kart. A more contemporary theory is to give the suspension some compliance so the wheels stay in touch with the road. Specific tuning calls for adding roll stiffness as necessary via anti-roll bars and tuning the dampers to the specific speed and road conditions.

Duke