Hey guys, I have this on a couple of forums, but didn't know who got around to where.. so I thought I would share here as well!
So here is what I started with-






I'm about 75% complete, and just started taking pictures. Sorry about that.
First I made a mold out of cardboard.. kind of hard to work with, so I went to Home Depot and purchased some aluminum plating to make a better mold.

Got the mold measured and all cut-



Everything fit nice and snug.

Next up was cutting the metal. Went to K&K and picked up around 40lbs of 1/4" and 3/16" plate and started grinding away. Got all of the cutting done last night!

Some of the pieces-



I jacked up the winch between the frame rails then drilled the mounting holes to the front of the bumper. The top piece slid right in and then I bolted up the front for a test fit-



Mmmmm... nice and tight. It actually is a tighter fit than the stock piece-



Then I drilled the remaining front holes and bolted it up. I am losing 1" of approach angle.. not too bad of a sacrifice for a winch. Plus this thing should be solid enough for me to slam down on it if I slide off of a rock.. couldn't do that to the stock piece.

 

Next was getting the wires hooked up-

The box is mounted out of view once the stock upper bumper goes back on. I pulled the plug for the remote from the solenoid box and will be mounting that in the new front plate.



So after getting all of the cutting finished, I went over to my buddy EROCK's house for some late night welding. It took about two hours to prep and grind (oops) and then when we were ready to lay down some beads, the welder wouldn't work!
So I went back Saturday morning and helped with some of his killer YJ projects while he welded up my seams.
The welds looked great, just needed a little grinding to make them smooth. Now all sides are completely flush and smooth as glass.



Next up was measuring and cutting the slot for the winch line.



Slid the winch in for a quick test fit.



Then I cut the hole for the solenoid plug and wires. Then notched the top of the bumper for the line engagement ****.
Next up was a bolt in test fit. Everything fit perfectly!



So now I am priming and painting. Just shot the first coat of primer. I'll probably throw on two coats of primer and two coats of paint.

The only issue I have run into is the primer is the perfect color that I was going for, and the paint is a little light. My only real options are stick with the lighter (dark) grey, or go with a semi gloss black or something.

 

Ok, took everything off and started priming-



Got it painted up and started the wiring-



All bolted in.. perfect fit!





That is one of the new 35"s on the roof rack, the rest were in the back. I got back from the tire shop like an hour ago, so no pics with the 35"s yet. I'll throw some up on the board tomorrow.
This was a fun build and did not take very long at all. :excited:

 

I'm using an 8000lb winch for this.

The project time wasn't too bad at all. I went through a couple of designs before deciding on the one I built and the project went from idea to completion in 6 days. It would have been faster, but I had to wait two days before my buddy could help me weld.
Assuming I had direct access to the welder, it could probably be built in around three days (including getting the metal, cutting, welding, and grinding).

I went to the gas station yesterday and the tire shop and was receiving all kinds of questions and positive feedback about it!
Couple more shots now that the 35"s are mounted-

 

That's awesome! Good job.

 

looks really good, but it also looks like you lost a bit of approach angle mounting it that low

 

It sits 1" lower than the stock piece. I cranked on the torsion bars and threw on some 35"s to make up for the difference.

 

Excellent job! Nicely done and thanks for the pics.

I'm really likng how those 35's fill up the wells. I think that's my replacement size when the 33's wear out.

 

How do you access the clutch, and how do you get the line to spool in an orderly fashion?

 

Very nice work....[sm=groupwave.gif]not everyone can do work like this.