Thanks, i actually put some pics in the BF photo gallery of how it mounts and have more on webshots if u want more info. was actually really easy to mate up. I am planning on eventually adding the same model (Smittybilt SRC JK) in the rear style also, and some extra inches in the feet too... the other pics are here... http://community.webshots.com/user/amazinNblazin

 

looks like a great thing to do...however my only concern would be wind resistance since there are no endcaps in front of the wheel wheels pretty much

 

HA! wind resistance. Actually, since the TB has a display showing mileage, mpg, range, etc, i can tell you that the average mpg WENT UP by .1-.2, as for engine temps, the thing runs ALOT cooler (more power as a result), even before i put a K&N filter. So much cooler that i decided just to put in the K&N filter and not the whole intake. As far as clearances, out at the ranch i can drive through the nastiest cow trails, canyons w/out worrying about scratching, much less rubbing anything off. Lolcopter, i have actually slightly "bounced" the entire rig off the front 45 degree angle (with the holes), not a thing on it.

**as for your question**
From all the research i did there are several routes you can go. I originally could not find a bumper (non stock) that i liked for my TB that was heavy duty, and started looking for winch plates that i could build off of. The only one i could find was from Synergy but i thought it was over priced and not heavy enough, so...
If you are budget minded you can build your own or visit your local steel shop. I used my local steel shop for fabrication of my mounts and some cutting of the frame rail horns, they will not charge near as much as an auto shop, and they usually have one or two guys who are metal gods that can make anything, not to mention the mass amounts of 'mass metal' they have to choose from. Making the plate would be pretty easy, figuring out where/how to attach it could be difficult. My bumper is welded to the custom steel and bolted to the under side of the frame rails (3 bolts each side). Though you might think it would be too heavy for yours, think about the angles involved when pulling. The last thing you would want is your winch plate breaking loose. Also, Do you want the Synergy style hidden hitch or are you wanting something more in your face?
If you are budget minded and want to buy something, there are plenty of off-road and rock crawler bumpers with winch plates, just NONE custom for our Blazers. (Keep in mind width is a huge factor if you want to protect the whole breadth of your rig.) The bumper i got has a built in winch plate (see http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2616...05202093EfduMu ) visible are two of the mounting holes) on the top and the mounting points for the vehicle are vertical 'squares' (see http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2640...05202093sBzKzL ), so designing a custom bracket was very easy. I pretty much restricted myself to the smallest 8000lb winches however, (and i will still probably have to cut a minute amount of plastic from the front clip when i do winch up), but i wanted the bumper as flush to the body lines as possible. I would think the two most important thing you can do are MEASURE and know what the mounting points on the back of the bumper look like before you buy. I even was able to get a manufacturer to send a fab guy out and snap a picture of the back of one for me to get a look at the mounting points! Another thing to think about if considering a custom bumper is whether or not your headlights, fog lights, turn signals, will be visible, in other words, not obstructed by some new metal!

in Retrospect, If the nice old man had not clipped my front end off, i think i could/WISH i could take the setup i have now and remount it THROUGH the stock front end. Oh the happy thoughts that brings to me!! Seriously though, it would be pretty easy to cut the stock front valance and bumper to fit my or another similar bumper. I love the custom look...

If anyone else has questions i am more than happy to answer, as i said before i spent so much time trying to find something i think i gave birth to this....

I am also thinking about and taking suggestions for what i should do, if anything, to close/cover the gap left above the frame rails and under the headlight assembly. (see http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2184...05202093OVHYdQ & http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2837...05202093ZquIVK )

 

Looks sick, I'd call a wrecking yard and get a front bumper from a later blazer, chop out the middle section and mate it to your rock crawler bumper. I'd skip out on the valence personally because you'd probably destroy it if bounce the truck on the lower "skid plate" portion of the bumper again.

I'm talking something around the lines of my bumper, it's painted to match, not chrome, It'll cover up the guts under the grill but still give you alot of clearance there.

 

I still have the valance and the metal, but the metal is dinged up...the mounting points on the frame horns took all the damage during impact so we cut those for the new bump...

 

Hence getting the other bumper (don't bother if it's not cheap) because yours is dinged (unless you can find someone to get the ding out enough to make it look decent). Get that same metal shop to somehow chop up the OEM bumper and mount the outside sections of the bumper on the truck to cover the sections not hidden by the Rock crawler bumper... There may be cheaper ways of doing this but imo it's probably the way that'd look best.

I'm posting this assuming you misunderstood my original post...

my $0.02

 

Still need to repaint the stock bumper, bolts, and install a rubber edge where I scratched the Smitty, but here it is basically finished...

 

See? lol

Looks great! It really cleaned up the appearance overall.

 

Lol yeah, those Frankenstein plugs for the front bumper were driving me crazy!

 

lmfao. What you did almost looks like a factory option now, you could probably bs a couple of people who don't know their blazer's.