DSCF2141 - winch plate layout.jpg
66 hits | 22.05 KB | Posted: 6/15/20
Winch plate layout on 9/32" steel plate. As you can see, I tweaked the plan a few times while ...

DSCF2142 - winch plate cut.jpg
65 hits | 28.91 KB | Posted: 6/15/20
Inner and outer cuts completed on the winch plate, but still some cleanup to be done. Next up is th...

DSCF2143 - winch plate with receiver.jpg
63 hits | 29.62 KB | Posted: 6/15/20
Chopped up Curt 13310 laid over the winch plate. The horizontal edge of the old square tubing needs...

DSCF2144 - winch plate test fit.jpg
139 hits | 39.28 KB | Posted: 6/18/20
First test fit. You know it's light when just three little spring clamps can hold it snugly in plac...

DSCF2147 - winch plate rear supports added.jpg
66 hits | 28.89 KB | Posted: 6/18/20
Rear view of the rear angled supports added and all the mounting holes drilled. Also, the meaty Exp...

DSCF2148 - winch plate tow hooks added.jpg
66 hits | 24.74 KB | Posted: 6/18/20
Expedition tow hooks installed. I couldn't use the top nut bracket because it would have to pass th...

DSCF2150 - winch plate bolted up.jpg
60 hits | 24.99 KB | Posted: 6/18/20
Second test fit, fully bolted up. Everything lined up properly, which was a bit of a relief. The s...

DSCF2151 - winch plate front face mockup.jpg
59 hits | 20.72 KB | Posted: 6/18/20
Next up, deciding what the front face should look like.

DSCF2153 - winch plate winch front face mockup.jpg
65 hits | 34.02 KB | Posted: 6/18/20
Front face mockup added to the winch test fit.

DSCF2157 - winch plate receiver.jpg
127 hits | 29.15 KB | Posted: 6/19/20
Receiver added in and all spot welds filled in fully ... only to realize after that the main plate h...

DSCF2158 - winch plate receiver.jpg
67 hits | 30.9 KB | Posted: 6/19/20
Rear view of the hitch receiver addition.

DSCF2161 - winch face plate cut.jpg
62 hits | 34.61 KB | Posted: 6/22/20
The torch didn't heat the main plate up enough to remain flat once cooled and the clamps removed, so...

DSCF2164 - winch face plate front view.jpg
58 hits | 22.71 KB | Posted: 6/22/20
Front face tacked in place and fairlead on for a better representation of the final product.

DSCF2165 winch face plate top view.jpg
62 hits | 30.61 KB | Posted: 6/22/20
Top view.

DSCF2163 - winch face plate side view.jpg
64 hits | 80.38 KB | Posted: 6/22/20
Side view. Rear angled braces will be added at the ends of the front face.

DSCF2166 - winch plate fairlead cutout.jpg
60 hits | 21.94 KB | Posted: 6/24/20
Fairlead cutout completed, braces added to the back of the face plate.

DSCF2167 - winch face braces hit bumper mounts.jpg
71 hits | 68.74 KB | Posted: 6/24/20
Test fit 2 ... oops, it's not the full 33.75" between the bumper mounts' front portion. Will h...

DSCF2171 - winch face braces clearanced for bumper mounts.jpg
64 hits | 63.88 KB | Posted: 6/24/20
Opted to shave the face plate supports to clear the bumper mount brackets.

DSCF2169 - winch plate test fit 2.jpg
54 hits | 37.92 KB | Posted: 6/24/20
Much better now that Test Fit 2 actually fits! No issues lining up the 8 bolt holes after the main ...

DSCF2168 - winch plate test fit 2.jpg
72 hits | 38.25 KB | Posted: 6/24/20
Bumper and sway bar bolt brackets cleaned up and painted.

DSCF2177 - winch plate top tabs.jpg
54 hits | 59.38 KB | Posted: 6/25/20
Top tabs added to the face plate for Phase 2 (bumper wings) tie-ins.

DSCF2173 - winch receiver.jpg
59 hits | 55.01 KB | Posted: 6/25/20
Arr.

DSCF2189 - winch plate finished (LED cutouts).jpg
51 hits | 18.78 KB | Posted: 6/28/20
Final welding completed, cutouts added (subtracted?) for 3" LED cubes.

DSCF2190 - winch plate finished (top).jpg
49 hits | 36 KB | Posted: 6/28/20
Completed, top view.

DSCF2187 - winch plate finished (bottom).jpg
54 hits | 42.37 KB | Posted: 6/28/20
Completed, bottom view.

DSCF2185 - winch plate - final welds.jpg
55 hits | 58.22 KB | Posted: 6/28/20
Close-up of the final pass welds.

DSCF2191 - winch plate - final welds.jpg
51 hits | 22.75 KB | Posted: 6/28/20
Close-up of the final pass welds.

DSCF2192 - winch plate - final welds.jpg
51 hits | 52.69 KB | Posted: 6/28/20
Close-up of the final pass welds.

DSCF2193 - winch plate - final welds.jpg
48 hits | 40.58 KB | Posted: 6/28/20
Close-up of the final pass welds.

DSCF2194 - winch plate - final welds.jpg
52 hits | 55.41 KB | Posted: 6/28/20
Close-up of the final pass welds.

DSCF2188 - winch plate - final welds.jpg
56 hits | 45.45 KB | Posted: 6/28/20
Close-up of the final pass welds.

DSCF2199 - winch plate slag-spatter cleaned.jpg
51 hits | 38.52 KB | Posted: 7/2/20
Spent a bunch of time chipping away the weld slag and splatter.

DSCF2205 - winch plate primed.jpg
54 hits | 38.97 KB | Posted: 7/2/20
Primed and ready for paint.

DSCF2210 - winch plate painted-installed.jpg
58 hits | 33.31 KB | Posted: 7/2/20
Painted and installed. It's actually pretty easy to mount up without the use of a jack (or helper) ...

DSCF2212 - winch plate painted-installed.jpg
95 hits | 28.29 KB | Posted: 7/2/20
I did some rust treatment on the frame horns, as evidenced by the black sections (less visible to th...

DSCF2214 - winch controller clearance.jpg
51 hits | 37.63 KB | Posted: 7/2/20
Installing the winch was a major PITA, and annoyingly did a fair bit of damage to the winch plate's ...

DSCF2215 - winch plate, winch installed.jpg
57 hits | 35.33 KB | Posted: 7/2/20
Winch installed, damaged paint touched up ... break time before working on the LED cubes install. T...

DSCF2217 - winch plate, winch installed.jpg
44 hits | 31.18 KB | Posted: 7/2/20
Yay, the cover fits on now that the sheet metal tab is painstakingly bent back.

DSCF2218 - winch plate, LED cubes added.jpg
48 hits | 29.1 KB | Posted: 7/2/20
LED cubes finally in place and plugged back in. The best solution I could come up with is oval head...

DSCF2228 - winch bumper temp wings.jpg
54 hits | 48.23 KB | Posted: 7/4/20
Quick 'n dirty bumper wings added to visually fill the space, and get an idea what shape will work w...

DSCF2232 - bumper wing stock profile.jpg
73 hits | 48.85 KB | Posted: 7/7/20
Bumper wing, stock profile.

DSCF2233 - bumper wing stock profile.jpg
57 hits | 58.7 KB | Posted: 7/7/20
Bumper wing, stock profile.

DSCF2241 - bumper wing angled profile.jpg
66 hits | 37.11 KB | Posted: 7/7/20
Bumper wing, likely [angled] profile.

DSCF2242 - bumper wing angled profile.jpg
51 hits | 40.21 KB | Posted: 7/7/20
Bumper wing, likely [angled] profile.

DSCF2243 - bumper wing stock vs angled profile.jpg
60 hits | 38.69 KB | Posted: 7/7/20
Bumper wing, stock vs angled profile.

DSCF2253 - bumper wing boxed.jpg
66 hits | 37.53 KB | Posted: 7/8/20
Tightened up the dimensions of the bumper wing top "plate" and started boxing the front pr...

DSCF2254 - bumper wing boxed.jpg
66 hits | 41.75 KB | Posted: 7/8/20
Front view. The temporary 2x4 gets in the way of perfect placement, but it's quite useful as a supp...

DSCF2255 - bumper wing sloped bottom.jpg
51 hits | 41.7 KB | Posted: 7/8/20
Closer to completion. I'll probably give the lower portion a little sharper angle and tweak the whe...

DSCF2257 - bumper wing sloped bottom.jpg
49 hits | 44.05 KB | Posted: 7/8/20
Front view. I'm not quite happy just yet with how it intersects the winch plate, but a little more ...

DSCF2259 - bumper wing extended bottom.jpg
47 hits | 39.5 KB | Posted: 7/8/20
Extended the bottom portion to mesh better with the winch tray. Not quite as streamlined as the pre...

DSCF2261 - bumper wing extended bottom.jpg
48 hits | 42.6 KB | Posted: 7/8/20
Side view of the extended bottom (and finished outer corner). It doesn't interfere with the LED fie...

DSCF2263 - bumper wing extended bottom (tidied up).jpg
59 hits | 47.69 KB | Posted: 7/14/20
Tidied up the template to get more precise lines and copy measurements over to the steel. Propped u...

DSCF2264 - bumper wing extended bottom (tidied up).jpg
59 hits | 43.48 KB | Posted: 7/14/20
Side view of the final version.

DSCF2286 - bumper wing test fit.jpg
75 hits | 45.98 KB | Posted: 7/18/20
First bumper wing completed; test fit is close but needs a bit of fine tuning at the wheel well.

DSCF2287 - bumper wing test fit.jpg
64 hits | 30.82 KB | Posted: 7/18/20
Initial test fit. The outer portion needs to tuck in tighter and sit a bit higher in the wheel well...

DSCF2285 - bumper wing frame mount.jpg
52 hits | 49.88 KB | Posted: 7/18/20
Frame horn mounting method, using spare bumper mounting brackets that don't require getting a wrench...

DSCF2284 - bumper wing backside.jpg
50 hits | 31.61 KB | Posted: 7/18/20
Backside view of the bumper wing. The pool of weld material at the far left was added to level that...

DSCF2292 - bumper wing wheel well intrusion.jpg
52 hits | 43.1 KB | Posted: 7/19/20
Shimmed the frame horn mounts to get the desired position, but not happy with the line it forms at t...

DSCF2296 - bumper wing tweaked and fully mounted.jpg
49 hits | 45.47 KB | Posted: 7/19/20
Adjustments made, mounted at three points (in two planes) now for a very sturdy fit; just need to do...

DSCF2297 - bumper wing tweaked and fully mounted.jpg
76 hits | 53.09 KB | Posted: 7/19/20
Minimal blockage of the LED cubes. I think they have a 30 degree flood pattern, so there probably w...

DSCF2298 - bumper wing tweaked and fully mounted.jpg
84 hits | 44.63 KB | Posted: 7/19/20
Trimmed the part that extended block-like into the wheel well, but still needs some fine tuning.

DSCF2301 - bumper wing wheel well trimmed.jpg
56 hits | 59.64 KB | Posted: 7/21/20
End trimmed to flow better with the wheel well.

DSCF2303 - bumper wing measurement notes.jpg
74 hits | 17.84 KB | Posted: 7/21/20
Measurement notes for the bumper wings. Final tweaks not reflected.

DSCF2334 - bumper wing 1 painted, 2 begun.jpg
84 hits | 37.02 KB | Posted: 7/26/20
Painted the first bumper wing (was starting to flash rust) and started in on the other side. Follow...

DSCF2339 - bumper wing 2 mostly done.jpg
69 hits | 32.98 KB | Posted: 7/27/20
Side 2 taking shape. Tried out an idea I've been kicking around for a mid-top brace that doubles as...

DSCF2371 - bumper wings completed.jpg
72 hits | 45.62 KB | Posted: 8/11/20