I used a Mile Marker Universal Winch Mounting Plate to attach my Smittybuilt 8k winch. After removing the bumper, grill, valance, etc, I trimmed the bumper brackets off the frame rails to give me a flat top to mount the winch plate on, At this point, there is at least 10in from the front of the frame rail until it hits the ac condenser. I used the pre drilled holes on the mile marker plate as a template to drill holes in the frame rails and mounted it using 4 grade 8 bolts. The mile marker plate also has predrilled holes for the winch and a roller fairlead mount. I trimmed the excess width from the mile marker plate so the sides of the frame rails was smooth. Though not neccessary, I welded the mile marker plate to the frame in addition to bolting it. To make new bumper brackets I used a piece of 2"x8"x3/8" steel for each side, though I would reccomend a 3" wide piece to utilize all factory mounting holes and have the bumper still removeable. I drilled a holle in the top and bottom of each new bracket, bolted it to the frame and bumper using existing mounting holes. I positioned it using an engine hoist and then welded the brackets to the bumper and frame, permanently mounting my bumper, since it sees extreme abuse while still allowing room for the winch to be removed. I cut out a hole for the roller fairlead, painted it, and was done. It still works as a bumper and protects the winch nicely, and is proerly positioned for the 3" body lift. The only problem is that after cutting out a section of the center for the fairlead, the bumper is much weaker and has been bent and smashed on some rocks, though it's still strong enough to be used with a hi lift. Feel free to use any of this for a writeup. I can take more pics if needed.
Bumper brackets trimmed off frame rails
![[Linked Image]](http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp156/epm131/89%20Raider%20v6/0627092024a_01.jpg)
Mile Marker Plate mounted
![[Linked Image]](http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp156/epm131/89%20Raider%20v6/0607091643a_01.jpg)
Winch Mounted and mile marker plate trimmed
![[Linked Image]](http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp156/epm131/89%20Raider%20v6/0629091453a_01.jpg)
Bumper positioning
![[Linked Image]](http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp156/epm131/89%20Raider%20v6/0629091453_01.jpg)
Finished product
![[Linked Image]](http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp156/epm131/89%20Raider%20v6/0703091700_01.jpg)
How it looks after many trips on the rocks