1963 Lotus 23B

For the first time to market:
#23S58 with a February 20, 1963 build date, and AM46 frame number. The original owner was Betty Haig, who raced the car in hillclimbs in 1963-1964. It disappeared until 1967, and when it reappeared it had substantial modifications that would indicate it was used in endurance racing. Information about the car from 1965-1967 is missing.

In 1967, Richard Grimes purchased the car from Fred Opert racing in New Jersey.
Further body modifications were made to the car. Richard raced this car through 1978, participating in the SCCA Runoffs at Riverside in 1968.

It was then sold it to Rolf Hofer in 1982.
Since 1982, the car has been through extensive restoration. The frame has been brought back to original Lotus specifications. This was facilitated by an original frame drawing purchased from Lotus Components in 1970. The AM 46 (Arch Motors) tag is still attached. A new aluminum belly pan is installed, along with all the aluminum inner panels. The inner panels are mounted with Dzus fasteners to facilitate maintenance. A removable single hoop roll bar is fitted. A new fuel tank, complete with FuelSafe fuel cell replaces the long range fuel tanks.
A new dashboard, along with rebuilt Smiths gauges (tach, oil pressure, oil temperature, water temperature) is mounted. The original dash tag (23S58) is attached to the new dashboard. Both the fire system control and master switch are mounted on the dash. The fire system has three zones, the fuel cell, driver, and carburetors. The car retains it’s original non-adjustable suspension parts, all original Lotus. The car is fitted with Girling AR brake calipers in front and original NR in the rear. This was done for the endurance racing.
The car is fitted with new Lotus “wobbly” wheels, 4-bolt hubs in front and 6-bolt hubs in the rear as built. The original Armstrong shocks have been rebuilt and are installed. A new body was fitted, as the original front bodywork had suffered damage and the rear bodywork was gone. The body was wired for headlights, brake lights, and tail lights. The gelcoat of the body is yellow. A new windshield and windows are fitted, and new seats with correct covers are in the car. Headlights are covered with Plexiglas units. The car has the original radiator/oil cooler. The original “swirl” bottle is replaced with a custom unit. During the frame restoration, every effort was made to ensure the frame tubes were consistent with the drawings. Custom aluminum tubing runs through the right pontoon for the oil lines and water lines to prevent contamination from the frame; thus preserving the engine.

Ownership transferred to Bob Leitzinger, State College, PA, late 2015.
During Bob’s ownership, the car’s final restoration was completed. Between 2016 and 2021, Carson Baird in State College, PA and Donnie Breslauer in Connecticut worked on bringing the car “over the line” to a completed race car. A Lotus 1600cc twin cam engine built by Ted Wenz is installed and dyno'ed with 185 horsepower. It has virtually zero hours on it, after break in. The gearbox is a Mark 4 5-speed Hewland freshly rebuilt, fitted with Metalastic joints. A new Hewland-to-engine adapter is installed. It features an 8:31 ring and Pinion in the rear end. It is equipped with dual Weber 45 DCOE carburetors. The car was track tested by Dave Handy of Sasco at Roebling Road Raceway in December of 2021. It has been in dry storage at Bob’s new location in North Carolina since that time. The car has been updated with Petronix ignition components and coil, also has hotter “warm up” spark plugs installed and new Braille lightweight battery. As of this writing, the car will only need new tires and coolant changed for racing as it currently has 50/50 antifreeze in it. There is a cold start procedure that has been followed by the current owner.

Please note, bidders may be subject to a bidding limit. Please review your account and contact the front office for assistance with increasing a bid limit prior to the auction. This lot subject to reserve. For this lot, payment accepted only by wire transfer. 10% buyer's premium for LLA live-online and absentee bidding. Sold on a bill of sale, sales tax will apply.


From the Collection of Bob Leitzinger Hillsborough, North Carolina.

The following condition report, while thorough, is not exhaustive as vintage cars have inherent wear and imperfections. We welcome personal inspections, please contact mt@lelandlittle.com to schedule. Public previews are available the second Saturday each month from 9am-12pm.

Some minor chipping to gel coat; tires are aged; no other apparent concerns.