Hi,
It's obviously hard to tell a lot from these pictures but I can make a few comments which may be of help to you and your friend.
1: I'm sorry but with the information you have provided I cannot confirm that this is a real Lotus 23 or 23B. Although it's clearly inspired by the 23 and uses some components such as the front wishbones and rear uprights which could have come from a 23, the chassis is not that of a 23 but is clearly something built to look a bit like a 23 .
2: The central take-off steering rack is interesting as it is a part adapted from a Standard Triumph rack specifically for use in a single seat race car. Clearly there is no need to modify a rack in that way for this application, so I would be tempted to conclude that it has been taken from a single seater car.
3: The engine has a Mk 2 Lotus twincam head but I have never heard of the tuner/builder.
4: It doesn't look like any of the 23 "tribute" cars I am aware of such as the Tiger, the Mamba or the Noble.
5: The British registration number starts with a "Q" which means it was first registered sometime after 1983 and that at that point the age of the vehicle was indeterminate. This is how most kit or self assembly cars were registered.
6: I suspect it's a one off home built affair which has used a number of components from an old single seat racecar. If I had to guess the the steering rack, rear uprights, front wishbones and some other parts coulds all have come from a Lotus Formula Ford; the high mounted pickups for the upper rear radius rods suggest maybe a Lotus 61.
I hope this is of help. Contrary to popular belief the Lotus 23 register is very happy to know about replica and tribute cars such as your friends and I would urge him to contact me directly or through yourself if he needs a translator to register the car with us. If he does so we will be able to help him with information, possibly parts and certainly the moral and physical help of other owners of similar cars. It doesn't even cost anything, although I would of course urge him (and anyone else interested) to subscribe to the HLR.
Best wishes, Nick Adams, Registrar, Lotus 23 Register, Historic Lotus Register
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