Tom Payne

I was blessed with Caterham-perfect dimensions, but I can only imagine your pain.

If you could/would torque everything within 5% of specification you would be way ahead of where most people are. Most don't own any torque wrench, much less actually use the thing.

Yep. First thing when I get it home I'm going to put it up on stands and pull the nose and wheels off and give it a good inspection and take a lot of photos of the details. Then I'll put it down and turn left out of my drive and head out to the country.

Thanks, Bob. Totally understand the challenges. Once upon a time I rode a little motorcycle 24/7/365 for a couple of years, so I am a very defensive driver by nature. I'm looking forward to learning any lessons that you experienced guys have to teach me about anything that I need to know. I do struggle with mechanical things but I enjoy the satisfaction of doing things on my own.

My name is Tom Payne. I live in Mooresville, North Carolina, USA. I am sixty-nine and retired. The Seven has been my dream car since 4/11/65 when I saw one in a gas station as my father and I were returning from a sports car race in Pensacola, Florida. Back in the mid-90s I was "between jobs" and hanging out with some friends who were Caterham dealers in Cumming, Georgia. They had a demo and it needed some attention so I spent a few days sorting it out and cleaning it up and they let me take it for the weekend. So as I was driving it I encountered Danny Panoz, of Panoz Auto Development who was driving one of his AIV Roadsters, so he flagged me down and we talked and he asked if I would bring the car to the factory so they could have a look at it. Well, that led me to a job working in the Parts Department and that led me to a job working at Bill Elliott's NASCAR shop in Dawsonville and that led me to eleven seasons with Roush-Fenway racing as a Purchasing Agent. Along the way I worked at Panoz Motorsports and was on the winning crew for the 1999 Petit LeMans. I should mention that this all started in 1995 when I was the Grounds Manager at Road Atlanta, pre-Panoz changes. .. Anyway, I digress.. I like fixing up old things and I've done about four Air-cooled VW projects, including one that I am trying to finish-up and get on the market before I go to pick-up my Caterham. I found my car on Hemmings and I made a mad dash up to Michigan to have a quick test-drive in the freezing cold and snow all over the place, and then a quick rinse and it was up on the lift so I could see how much love it's going to need. I had to leave the car behind in storage. I'm busting it on the VW to get it done, going the extra mile on it. So that's about it. I still can't believe I actually own a Seven. I'm having a hard time sleeping at night. Pray for me.. LOL. .