A Long-Lost 1963 Corvette Z06 Emerges From The Shadows At MCACN 2024

The Corvette hobby as we know it today began in the early 1970s, when enthusiasts began thinking of the cars as “collectible”. The collector mentality has grown at an exponential rate since then, with a fervent focus on all of the high-performance variants from the 1950s through the early ‘70s. After so many years of focus on fuelies, big blocks, heavy duty brake and suspension cars, and so on it’s easy to assume that any that have survived the ravages of racing, hard street use, and the passage of time have already been found. That is, however, clearly not the case, as evidenced by this incredible car – a 1963 big tank Z06 – displayed in the Barn Finds and Hidden Gems section of this year’s MCACN show.

The Z06 option, introduced in 1963, was an all-out road racing package that included a 360-horsepower fuel injected engine, 4-speed manual transmission, Positraction axle, and heavy-duty suspension and brakes. A 36.5-gallon fiberglass fuel tank and aluminum knock-off wheels were initially part of the Z06 package but problems with both delayed their availability and they were therefore separated from the package and later offered as stand-alone options. A total of 199 Z06 Corvettes were produced in 1963 and approximately 75 of these were also equipped with the 36.5-gallon tank. Known colloquially as big tank Z06s, the few that survive are among the most desirable Corvettes ever created and finding one that’s been completely unknown to the collector world is almost unheard of, which makes the car shown here truly astounding.

This remarkable car’s story begins with Second Lieutenant Scott Andrew Briley, a highly decorated B-17 co-pilot during WWII. He was an avid road racing enthusiast who went to work, after the war ended, at a California Chevrolet dealership. When the Z06 option package was announced Briley was the dealership’s sales manager and he immediately ordered our subject car for himself. After taking delivery, he raced it extensively up and down the west coast. Briley sold the car to Doug Williams in 1967, and Williams raced it until a catastrophic engine failure occurred in 1970. The broken engine was partially disassembled and after spending about two years outside, in the San Francisco Bay area, the immobile car went into a trailer, where it remained for the next 54 years.

It’s worth noting that when this car went into storage, in 1970, it was nothing more than a worn-out old Corvette with a blown-up engine. As time marched on ’63 Z06s, especially those equipped with a big tank, became increasingly desirable and ever more valuable, but this car was essentially forgotten by almost everyone. Recently however, someone who did know about it shared the information with a fellow go kart racer named Scott Andrews. Andrews isn’t a Corvette guy, per se; he is a hard-core car guy who makes his living restoring Packards, Auburns, and the like. He learned a lot in a short time and understood the significance of this lost Z06. After sealing the deal to buy it in October of this year he was kind enough to bring it to MCACN for all the world to see. It remains in the same state it was found in, except for its tires, which were installed in order to make the car rollable.

As for the future of this ultra-rare treasure, Andrews intends to fully restore the car, but not to chase after Bloomington Gold and NCRS awards. Instead, he and his sons will restore it to race-worthy condition and then they will actively vintage race it. “This car is still titled to its first owner, Scott Briley,” he explains. “It has never worn a license plate because it was built to race and all it did was race. My sons and I are racers and we’re going honor the car’s history by continuing to race it.”

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