Louie4's YJ by Louie4

3 minute(s) of a 411 minute read

Well last night I took my bumper to work and did a little fabbing. All I used was a piece of 2 x 2 angle iron and my Destaco latch 341R. The latch is beefy. Now for some pics.

Here's the Destaco latch:



This is the standard Smittybilt tire carrier end. All that stuff was in the way to I cut it flush and put a plate over it.

I had to clean off the bumper as well to make room for the new metal.



Then I made a backing plate for the tire carrier so it wouldn't go into the tailgate. I think I'm going to put some kind of rubber on it as well.





Next I welded the Destaco Latch onto the tire carrier. I didn't want to fool with drilling it and having to put bolts through it. Water might get in there and cause issues later down the line. I know my welds aren't the best but the last time I put a hood on was over a year ago.



The progress thus far.



I also found out my shirt wasn't fireproof...huh.



For the final part I cut a piece of angle to size to weld the hook on for the latch. None of this is very pretty but I'm going for function over fashion.

Finally the nearly completed product. I need to get some paint for it. I had to flap disc quite a bit of powdercoat off. I think I'm just going to slap some textured black on there. I don't want to strip the entire thing down. It's not pretty but its 100 times better than the stock setup and a lot stronger.

11-26-2011

Finally done with the tire carrier.