Thanks I have been definitely doing that as well within a 4hr drive not much for sale in my area but still looking.

do you plan to wheel it or just keep her on the street? if so what would be your main terrain type?

We plan on wheeling it on the weekends a few times a year but a lot of pavement use. Our terrain is rocky in Arkansas and mostly mud here in Louisiana where I'm at

well a good way to build your jeep is to build it for your terrain. you say mostly mud, so i recommend protecting your jeep against the elements in those conditions. 1k isnt much but its enough to protect yourself and help out. generally with mud/water its ideal to relocate all of you breathers and get a snorkel. also making your jeep self reliable so that if you get stuck you can get unstuck, so a winch is an awesome investment as well as some recovery gear like straps and D-rings.

That's why I'm partially leaning towards maybe a bumper/winch. If I go that direction what's the cheapest but best quality full width?

i built my own front bumper, but when it comes to buying one, it depends on what you want it to look like also and its usefulness. make sure it has tow points, compatible with a winch, and having cutouts for the factory fogs are a plus or tabs for extra lights.

I'm not against building my own either any close ups of yours so I could get an idea?

i started off with just building a plain stubby bumper with nothing on it bc i wasnt exactly sure what i wanted. then over time I added pieces here and there until i got to a point that I was happy with! first it was plain, then added a winch, stinger, and lights. then i needed some kind of tow point but didnt like any other hook setups so i cut out my own out of 1" steel that I am extremely happy with! hope this helps

Looks good

thank you! are you good with metal fabrication?