My Review of Discovery Channel's New T.V. Show: Garage Rehab

I beat myself up almost every day. I heard about this show debuting on the Discovery Channel. I distinctly remember, driving through Dallas, TX over a year ago, seeing different garages and realizing each of them had the same issues. Junk every where, disorganized, using parts and systems not for the right jobs just to make ends meet. The potential was out there. If there was a show or an investor who would do Garage Rehab the same way Jon Taffer does with Bar Rescue, there would be a real market for that out there.

Then, I saw a call out on the Discovery channel. They were looking for new T.V. show ideas. So, I decided I would write in my idea. I'll be completely honest, the only thing I remember is going to the website, typing up my idea, hitting the submit button and that was it. I cannot say whether or not my idea actually went through because I don't remember ever seeing an email confirmation. Something that showed up and says, thank you for your submission. To be perfectly honest, I remember having the idea, and saying I was going to submit it...but after that...I really don't even know if I actually did or not. My wife to this day swears that I did because I had a conversation with her about it. So, who knows if I did, I can't remember, but I feel as if I did. The only thing I can say is...I'm stoked the network decided on creating a show around this premise and putting in the one man who knows the business and the money, Richard Rawlings.

So now that I have essentially made a fool of myself, I finally got the gumption to actually watch the show. I had several mixed feelings about it at first. Is Richard Rawlings really the right guy to put on the screen and do this job? Will he be able to keep this a show longer than a year? Is he going to venture out to other states and cities? Detroit? St. Louis? Bowling Green? L.A.? I originally thought it was going to fail quickly because of Richard being the front man. He has no real wrench time that I know of. I read his book and it was all about making money, buying...flipping...and selling cars for profit...repeat. Then it was him wanting to jump in and race. This guy was living his legacy and he didn't even know it then. I will say, after seeing the show, I realized he was the PERFECT personality for this. He has the style, over 16 years of Gas Monkey Garage and countless other years of experience knowing how successful business deals turn out.

Richard Rawlings just oozes cool when he is around. The best part is he tells it how it is. While it may seem like a joke for a brief minute, he gets straight to the point, he identifies the weaknesses, assesses the risks and takes action. If the risk is too great, he either backs out or does what no sane man would do, buys in and hopes for the best. Thankfully, much like gambling, you have to bet big to win big. That is definitely what he is doing with these rehabs. I'm happy to see he is putting his time, money and resources into taking potential businesses, flipping them and giving the average trade skill hard working American citizen hope, ambition, empowerment and a taste of success that will keep them living longer and happier. Richard said it perfectly, it takes "ambition, drive, and know how..." to really be successful in a business that will quite literally never depreciate. Unless we get some wack job politicians that ban the use of fossil fuels altogether and ultimately says cars are illegal...but I highly doubt that will happen in either of our lifetimes.

Garage Rehab should give shop owners across America a glimmer of hope, if they can get his attention, provide the right foundation for potential success, Richard will be there to invest and turn it around to make money back. I truly hope this show lasts a few seasons. I truly hope shop owners see the show and reach out to Richard and his team of experts to change their livelihoods and put trades back on the market for this younger generation to consider as an opportunity for success.

Personally, I would love to see Richard go the extra step in the future with the employees. On S1E2, he had the young guy in the shop, which said he wasn't very skilled. I would love to see him invest in the personnel, send them off to a Welding Shop for a few weeks, or a Metal fabrication shop. Possibly even donate scholarship money to a specific school to help improve the knowledge and skill of employees. Knowledge is power...empowerment by a leader equates to success. Knowledge equates to confidence in the ability to strive toward success and reduce stress. Success equates to quality of work and quality work turns into a positive reputation. Develops a story, improves the legacy, and builds a foundation among people which will echo in time. Of course, to put it plainly, Success also equates to dollar bills...the green...the money.

I truly admire Richard's ambition for this show, and it definitely sheds a different light on his personality. Great job at Discovery Channel for bringing this show on, giving Americans who truly work hard some hope and putting the perfect person in charge of a job like this.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed my review. Be sure to follow me on Instagram @sgtcarman! You can find me on Twitter from time to time as well!

Take a look at the last episode where Richard tests the capability of the shop employees.
 Can this shop even perform the basics?

My Jeep Wrangler YJ Project

A couple of years ago, When my wife and I moved to CO, my father in law told me about how he left everything behind in Colorado. He had to make a decision, which also meant he left his family too. When he left in 2005, he parked his 1988 Jeep Wrangler YJ at a friend's house in Bennett Colorado. They moved it to a barn, hoping he would come back for it someday. After years of never having enough money to fix the repairs needed to get it driving again, it sat and never moved from where it was left last. The mice had there way with it. Mice had essentially turned it into their own fornicating domain.

The main reason it was left, he thought the clutch bit the dust. He could never get the $250.00 for the parts or the money to pay for the repairs. So I decided after several conversations, I would take on the task of at least getting the Jeep back in the possession of family. I said I would take on the repairs myself if he wanted me too, since I wanted something to work on anyway. I ultimately wanted to get it running again for him. Once I got it in my possession, the truth became very clear. It was going to take a lot more than a clutch to replace to make it road worthy again.

Somehow the fuel tank got punctured. 

The soft top has unique designs from train and snow drying out the top and cracking. 

Thankfully, a key was left in the ignition

Interior definitely needs a deep cleaning.

Sunburn windows

Remnants of my father in law's belongings. 

Tires have good tread but are terribly dry rotted.

Engine bay covered in years of filth.

Chrome looks great!

Tattered and torn from mice making a nest out of the material

Typical barn find filth inside.

Since I have taken on the project, I replaced some major components. I put on a new Clutch Master Cylinder since it was bone dry and even after fluids I couldnt get it to hold. You can find all of the work I do on my DRIVN page: 

https://drivn.com/ride/40263/jeep-wrangler-yuppy-fil

I have also replaced some dry rotted fuel lines and learned the fuel pump was shot. 

I will update this blog as I get more involved. At the moment I am out of commission because I had surgery on my left shoulder. But, ill be back in business soon enough!