I’ve wanted a Jeep Wrangler for as long as I can remember. At one point, I even considered building one from the frame up, although I didn’t have the experience or money to take on something like that at the time.

Eventually, I got an opportunity to buy one, although the circumstances weren’t exactly what I had planned.

I’d hit a deer with my previous vehicle, and the damage was enough to total it. With the insurance money, I decided it was finally time to find a Jeep.

Bringing Home the Wrangler

I found a 1998 Jeep Wrangler that looked like a good starting point for a project.

It was white, had the four-cylinder engine, and was pretty much stock. It had also seen better days, but I wasn’t looking for something in perfect condition. I wanted a vehicle I could work on and eventually build the way I wanted.

My dad went with me to pick it up, and we drove it several hours home.

Despite its age and condition, it made the trip without any major problems.

That was probably the most time I spent actually driving it.

I Might Have Gotten Ahead of Myself

The day after bringing it home, I started taking it apart.

And when I say the day after, I mean less than 24 hours after getting it into the driveway.

I had plans for rebuilding it and figured there wasn’t much reason to wait. The sooner I started removing things, the sooner I could get to work on what needed to be repaired or replaced.

There was just one fairly important detail I hadn’t worked out.

I didn’t have a garage.

At the time, I figured I could make that work. I had tools, a place to park it, and enough enthusiasm to get started.

Unfortunately, enthusiasm doesn’t provide much protection from the weather.

The Temporary Garage

Since I didn’t have a proper workshop, I bought one of those portable carport tents to use as a temporary garage.

It seemed like a reasonable solution. I’d have some shelter from the rain and a place to work on the Jeep without leaving everything completely exposed.

For a while, it worked.

Then the wind started causing problems.

The tent took enough damage that I had to repair it. I got it back together, only to have the wind damage it again.

I went through that more than once before finally reaching the point where it wasn’t worth trying to repair anymore.

So there I was with a Jeep that I’d already taken apart and no longer had a suitable place to work on it.

Not exactly how I’d planned things.

A Better Place to Work

Fortunately, the workspace situation has changed since then.

A friend of mine had an available lift in a garage and offered to let me put the Wrangler there. That means the Jeep now has a proper place to sit, and when I’m ready to get back into the project, I’ll have access to a lift instead of trying to work around a temporary tent.

The Jeep is still sitting disassembled, but at least the lack of shelter is no longer the obstacle it was before.

I’m working through some other projects first, so I haven’t resumed the rebuild yet. Still, having the Jeep in a garage puts me a lot closer to being able to make progress.

What’s Next

I still want to rebuild the Wrangler and get it back on the road.

Once I have some of my other work out of the way, I’ll be able to take a fresh look at what I’ve already done, what still needs attention, and how I want to tackle the next stage.

Looking back, I probably should have arranged a proper workspace before taking it apart less than a day after buying it.

On the other hand, I did get a pretty good head start on the disassembly.