Not sure which thread to post this in, so why not here.

I finally got to installing my side armor today and here's a little write-up of my "experience" with my 2011 JKU.

Time: Set aside 4 hours to do a job that should take 20 minutes. The mounting scheme is brilliant - if only the armor was designed in a way that it would fit...
Tools:
* 5/8" socket with a couple of extensions. You'll need at least one extension just to be able to get the socket and nut back up through the armor and mounted.
* jack stand to hold the armor in place while you've got it semi-mounted so you don't have to use another person or your knees
* jack to "persuade" the armor to go into place when the holes you've drilled just barely are the right size
* drill and various drill bits to drill pilot holes and then a 1/2" drill bit
* rotary tool with a strong metal cutting big (carbide or diamond)
* file
* lubricant for the metal you'll be cutting
* gloves might come in handy to avoid getting metal shavings all over your hands
* flashlight
* cardboard (I used some from the box the armor came in)

The write-up:
Do one side at a time. Take the nuts off the front and rear side body mounts (not the middle one). Get used to lugging your armor from your worksite to the JK and back. You'll be making a few trips.
Slip both sides of the armor over the big washers of the body mount. You can let it "hang" from the washer if you need to reposition your body. The rear armor mount should go up without much of a problem. Put the nuts on both of the rear bolts to hold it in place. Go up front and rotate the armor to where you think it would just go on the front bolts. Use a flashlight to determine how much off the bolts are from the holes in the armor. For both of mine, the front-to-back was within the slot of the armor but the front most bolt on both sides did not line up with the armor. I needed to expand the slot to let the bolt slip through. In addition, on the passenger side, the big slot in the armor to go around the body mount isolator wasn't big enough. I had to expand that as well; it kept slipping under that rubber isolator and I could not get it up for the bolts to go through.

This will make more sense once you're underneath the JK. Decide where and by how much you need to enlarge the hole(s) on the front mount. Be sure to note if it's toward the armor tubing or away from it. (On both sides I made my initial holes in the wrong direction because I forgot that I was upside down when I decided which way to cut, but right side up when I did the cutting.)

After you get a good first guess, take the armor off and go to your worksite. My approach was to use the drill to put a hole in the armor and then go up in drill bit size until I got to my 1/2" which basically connected to Smittybilt's slot. Unfortunately since I don't have a drill press I had to do the best I could with the hand held drill. Then I got out my rotary tool and very slowly (with lots of spray lube) tried to enlarge the hole/slot, using a file as well. Then it was a trip back to the JK to see if the hole was big enough. Nope, back to the garage to make it bigger. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Once you get the bolts to slip through, it's a simple matter of putting the nuts on and torquing them up.

One last thing to watch for - keep an eye on that body isolator to see if the armor is pushing up on that when you use your jack to try to convince the armor to go up (because "dang! it looks like those bolts should slide right in!")

Here's some pictures.

Before:



The less than pretty "adjustments" I made:


After:


Love the look, hate that it took so long for as much as this costs.