Hello From Montana - LotusTalk

Davemk1 · 10-09-2009, 09:38 AM

Hello all,

My name is Dave and I live in Bozeman MT. I currently drive a Birkin S3 Seven (for sale in classifieds) and it's my second Lotus of sorts. Before the Birkin I drove a 1966 Lotus Cortina and it was a wonderful car. I sold it to fund the purchase of a quicker car and shopped for an Elise at that time but I was not in the position to afford one at that time. I ended up with the Birkin and it's been a huge amount of fun. But alas I feel I need something more practical and I've always lusted after an Elise so I'm back in the market. I hope that by spring I'll be in one.

I became hooked on Lotus cars when I was very young as my father was a race mechanic who worked the big races at Watkins Glen. He loved the philosophy of the Lotus and passed that to me. He died when I was still young but I'll never forget the sight of the Lotus' flying down the straights and not having to slow in the corners the way the other cars needed to. I can see it like it was yesterday. So now I drive on the street and autocross some in the Birkin and like to think my father would approve.

I'm a custom bicycle framebuilder and run my own one man business. I build custom road, cross and track frames, made to measure, for folks all over the world. If any of you are cyclist you might have fun looking at my work. My site is Kirk Frameworks Custom Bicycles .

Anyway - I've taken enough of your time. Thanks for reading and for providing such a cool forum.

Dave Kirk
Bozeman MT

shay2nak · 10-09-2009, 10:50 AM

cool, welcome to the forum, Dave!

Hope you get that Elise.

Ara

kwancho · 10-09-2009, 10:58 AM

I TiG'd my own road bike in the spring with the bike-frame building class at Stanford, and so I have a full appreciation of how hard they are to make. Your bikes look fantastic! 157 is stunning.

Attached are pictures of my first attempt (turns out huge, super thin, crazy-shaped down tubes don't straighten very well) and my final product.

slaughtr · 10-09-2009, 11:12 AM

Welcome from Idaho!

Davemk1 · 10-09-2009, 11:30 AM

Thanks for the warm welcome.

Yo kwancho - cold setting an aero downtube is a bitch eh? I wish I could say that's never happened to me. Round tubes are so much more forgiving.

Here's a frame I finished up yesterday. It's headed for the paint shop today and then off to Washington DC to it's new home. I've attached a few rough shop photos of the unpainted frame.

Now for me to find that Elise..................

Dave

delise · 10-09-2009, 11:54 AM

Welcome Dave - hell if I had your expertise and abilities I would just build my own custom Atom type vehicle from scratch !

kwancho · 10-09-2009, 11:56 AM

That bottom bracket is absolutely money.

All the little things I brazed onto the frame ended up being much more difficult than I thought they would be. Major

Davemk1 · 12-03-2009, 07:33 AM

Hello Again,

I'm pleased to say I finally have my Elise. Of course it arrived right as real winter weather arrived here so it's spent most days in the garage but it's good to have it so I can go over everything and change all the fluids and nut & bolt the entire suspension.

Now if winter here didn't last until May.........

Hoping for a warm dry period soon. It was -1* this morning with snow on most of the roads. A good day to drive the MINI with snow tires.

Thanks again,

dave

whptgud · 12-03-2009, 08:31 AM

Congrats and enjoy!

serpent · 12-03-2009, 08:52 AM

congratz on the car!!

shay2nak · 12-04-2009, 08:23 AM

RENDERMAN · 12-04-2009, 09:14 AM

Welcome Dave, clean car. I like your work, my wife was in the Cuban national cycling team back in the early '90s and once in a while she will hint at me that she wants to get two bikes so we can go riding every day, maybe in the future....

qu1Z · 12-04-2009, 11:54 AM

Lots of snow in Bozeman... no snow here in Missoula yet... but let's meet up in the spring and cruise.

gotomike · 12-07-2009, 08:21 PM

Hey you guys in Montana; what a surprise!!! Who would have known that anyone out there would own an Elise! I'm in Los Angeles, but own a home in Livingston, MT. I was qualified as crazy when I bought my Elise (just 2 weeks ago.) I traded my FJCruiser for it. I know... The FJ was THE perfect Montana car and this one is... well not so Montana. But I got hooked at a very early age and I had to have one. I know that I'll get stones and pebbles if I drive it up there but I just drove it from Atlanta where I bought it to Los Angeles. I got one nice chip on the radiator cover. That panel can easily be fixed. I can't wait to meet you guys. But in the meantime, don't hesitate to private me so that we can stay in touch.
That orange one sure stands out in the snow!

10-09-2009, 09:38 AM	#1 (permalink)
Davemk1 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Bozeman, MT Posts: 108	Hello From Montana Hello all, My name is Dave and I live in Bozeman MT. I currently drive a Birkin S3 Seven (for sale in classifieds) and it's my second Lotus of sorts. Before the Birkin I drove a 1966 Lotus Cortina and it was a wonderful car. I sold it to fund the purchase of a quicker car and shopped for an Elise at that time but I was not in the position to afford one at that time. I ended up with the Birkin and it's been a huge amount of fun. But alas I feel I need something more practical and I've always lusted after an Elise so I'm back in the market. I hope that by spring I'll be in one. I became hooked on Lotus cars when I was very young as my father was a race mechanic who worked the big races at Watkins Glen. He loved the philosophy of the Lotus and passed that to me. He died when I was still young but I'll never forget the sight of the Lotus' flying down the straights and not having to slow in the corners the way the other cars needed to. I can see it like it was yesterday. So now I drive on the street and autocross some in the Birkin and like to think my father would approve. I'm a custom bicycle framebuilder and run my own one man business. I build custom road, cross and track frames, made to measure, for folks all over the world. If any of you are cyclist you might have fun looking at my work. My site is Kirk Frameworks Custom Bicycles . Anyway - I've taken enough of your time. Thanks for reading and for providing such a cool forum. Dave Kirk Bozeman MT

10-09-2009, 10:50 AM	#2 (permalink)
shay2nak Jobu no like curveball Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Land of da 1000 Oaks, CA Posts: 15,702	cool, welcome to the forum, Dave! Hope you get that Elise. Ara __________________ save ~10 lbs gain 1 hp EQ: Y=(190*X) / (1984-X) where Y is (HP) and X is (lbs) '07 Lotus Exige S310 '08 Acura TSX 6-speed support WTC 2!

10-09-2009, 10:58 AM	#3 (permalink)
kwancho Stormtrooper Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Los Altos Hills, CA Posts: 99	I TiG'd my own road bike in the spring with the bike-frame building class at Stanford, and so I have a full appreciation of how hard they are to make. Your bikes look fantastic! 157 is stunning. Attached are pictures of my first attempt (turns out huge, super thin, crazy-shaped down tubes don't straighten very well) and my final product. Attached Images __________________ 2007 Aspen White Exige S Track, Touring, LSD Golden Gate Lotus Club #979 Larini SC Sport, R888, black badges, red folding tow hook

10-09-2009, 11:12 AM	#4 (permalink)
slaughtr Big head man Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Boise, Idaho Posts: 5,957 Images: 3	Welcome from Idaho! __________________ My car both sucks and blows. Now with added all natural smoky goodness!

10-09-2009, 11:30 AM	#5 (permalink)
Davemk1 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Bozeman, MT Posts: 108	Thanks for the warm welcome. Yo kwancho - cold setting an aero downtube is a bitch eh? I wish I could say that's never happened to me. Round tubes are so much more forgiving. Here's a frame I finished up yesterday. It's headed for the paint shop today and then off to Washington DC to it's new home. I've attached a few rough shop photos of the unpainted frame. Now for me to find that Elise.................. Dave Attached Images

10-09-2009, 11:54 AM	#6 (permalink)
delise 2005 Ardent Red, Touring Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Beverly Hills Posts: 2,537	Welcome Dave - hell if I had your expertise and abilities I would just build my own custom Atom type vehicle from scratch ! __________________ "You can run over an insect and know just from the messages coming through the wheel how many legs it had. Was it a beetle? Was it a spider? Hang on......... spider." Jeremy Clarkson - Top Gear

10-09-2009, 11:56 AM	#7 (permalink)
kwancho Stormtrooper Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Los Altos Hills, CA Posts: 99	That bottom bracket is absolutely money. All the little things I brazed onto the frame ended up being much more difficult than I thought they would be. Major __________________ 2007 Aspen White Exige S Track, Touring, LSD Golden Gate Lotus Club #979 Larini SC Sport, R888, black badges, red folding tow hook

12-03-2009, 07:33 AM	#8 (permalink)
Davemk1 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Bozeman, MT Posts: 108	Hello Again, I'm pleased to say I finally have my Elise. Of course it arrived right as real winter weather arrived here so it's spent most days in the garage but it's good to have it so I can go over everything and change all the fluids and nut & bolt the entire suspension. Now if winter here didn't last until May......... Hoping for a warm dry period soon. It was -1* this morning with snow on most of the roads. A good day to drive the MINI with snow tires. Thanks again, dave Attached Images

12-03-2009, 08:31 AM	#9 (permalink)
whptgud Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 3	Congrats and enjoy!

12-03-2009, 08:52 AM	#10 (permalink)
serpent Driver!! Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 3,725	congratz on the car!! __________________ Studies show 100% of people die. Might as well have some fun. "Comfort is for kids. I would want to make my passengers weep in fear" - Agent One

12-04-2009, 08:23 AM	#11 (permalink)
shay2nak Jobu no like curveball Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Land of da 1000 Oaks, CA Posts: 15,702	__________________ save ~10 lbs gain 1 hp EQ: Y=(190*X) / (1984-X) where Y is (HP) and X is (lbs) '07 Lotus Exige S310 '08 Acura TSX 6-speed support WTC 2!

12-04-2009, 09:14 AM	#12 (permalink)
RENDERMAN Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: 305 Posts: 1,046 Images: 6	Welcome Dave, clean car. I like your work, my wife was in the Cuban national cycling team back in the early '90s and once in a while she will hint at me that she wants to get two bikes so we can go riding every day, maybe in the future.... __________________ WILL.I.AM It's not how fast it can go. It's how your heart beats in a few seconds..... -Tony Baker Adobe Photoshop CS4 Certified Instructor Check out my work, Site under construction... http://www.wilsart.com/ Last edited by RENDERMAN : 12-04-2009 at 09:31 AM.

12-04-2009, 11:54 AM	#13 (permalink)
qu1Z Difflow Diffusers Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Montana Posts: 546	Lots of snow in Bozeman... no snow here in Missoula yet... but let's meet up in the spring and cruise. __________________ 2006 Lotus Exige (Aspen White) - Larini SE Exhaust/Decat, Green Filter, DeSnorkel, HID's, Difflow 7 Element Diffuser, EuroGrill, CF Scoops Difflow.com - Diffusers for your Lotus Elise and Exige.

12-07-2009, 08:21 PM	#14 (permalink)
gotomike Man, do I love driving it Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Los Angeles, CA & Livingston, MT Posts: 120	Hey you guys in Montana; what a surprise!!! Who would have known that anyone out there would own an Elise! I'm in Los Angeles, but own a home in Livingston, MT. I was qualified as crazy when I bought my Elise (just 2 weeks ago.) I traded my FJCruiser for it. I know... The FJ was THE perfect Montana car and this one is... well not so Montana. But I got hooked at a very early age and I had to have one. I know that I'll get stones and pebbles if I drive it up there but I just drove it from Atlanta where I bought it to Los Angeles. I got one nice chip on the radiator cover. That panel can easily be fixed. I can't wait to meet you guys. But in the meantime, don't hesitate to private me so that we can stay in touch. That orange one sure stands out in the snow! __________________ 1986 Citroën 2CV (the one that gets the most looks and questions) 2008 Ardent Red Lotus Elise 'California'

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