Hi Mark,
Lucky bugger, wish I had a gorgeous 23,
I race the ex Siffert Lotus 22 which has basically the same chassis and
suspension as the 23. I have not had a single failure of either in the 4
years of hard racing my car got. I would advise careful checking the old
water tubes as they are prone to rust out from inside even if they have been
bypassed by external tubes. When we restored my chassis we filled the water
tubes with POR15 and then drained it out. We did this a couple of times to
put a good corrosion resistant coating right through the system. They should
never suffer from sulphuric ants attack ever again. The suspension is pretty
strong but the front Triumph Herald uprights and stub axles should be
checked regularly. I guess the same goes for any race car. Safety first.
In my view Lotus cars really did not deserve the "fragile" tag. They were
built pretty strong AND light. The man was pretty smart and it should be
remembered he drove his own products until the business grew too big and he
did not have the time.
Hope this helps,
Bruce Mansell.
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