1997 Jeep Wrangler TJ

It's been well over a year and a half since we bought our '97 TJ from a bonehead with no clue about maintenance, cleanliness, and how to put up a Jeep's top when it's raining. We set out to build a comfortable vehicle for long-distance commuting that was equally at home doing 75 mph on the freeway as it was traversing the Rubicon or exploring desert ghost towns. We won't rehash the whole build because the prior nine installments are on our Web site at www.jpmagazine.com, but in the end, we're pleased to say we accomplished what we set out to do.

Rather than blow the whole Jeep apart and build it in one fell swoop, the modifications were done a little at a time just like most of you would do. And just like a lot of you would do, we picked one really good shop to handle all of the modifications. TAG Motorsports did the lion's share of the work, ensuring the Jeep would be ready for commuting duties at the start of each week. In this final installment, we'll show you some of the things that had bugged us about the vehicle and our solutions. Unlike the old saying, "No project is ever really done," we're calling this one finished.