hitch

I will make this brief....

got a junk yard hitch off a 4.0L XJ

4 bolts of 15mm on both sides, muffler mount in way on passenger side, hammered it off good.

backing plate all rusted, bolts stripped

want to make my own backing plate and weld on bolts

will sandblast and paint hitch

how can I attach recovery shackles to the hitch?

how wide is the inside of the frame for backing plate?
tig or mig bolts?

can copy outline of old to new.

I have seen 2 options.
First is the shackle mount that mounts into the receiver. many different brand out there. Some are hollow tub, some are solid(like Warns). I would go for a solid one.
The other option I have seen but couldn't find just now is a mount that bolts to/around the hitch itself and has/it is a d-ring mount.

Make your own nutstrips:

http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=983110

You can also buy them from Morris 4x4 or JCR.

Or buy grade 8 bolts like I did for 12$, install them with a magnet on an antenna and be done in 20 min.

Total: 40$ hitch + bolts.
Nutstrips alone were 50$ online.... 100$ at the stealer

Morris 4x4 nutstrips, $15.99 ea w/o hardware.

JCR nutstrips, $25 per pair with hardware included.

IF you decide to fore go the nutstrips, which I don't recommend, be sure to use the rectangular steel washers on each of the bolts. Although those rectangular steel washers work great for non-unibody thick steel frames, I prefer the nutsrips for a more secure mounting with a unibody, ESPECIALLY if you intend to use it as a recovery point.