After much delay I have finally installed my THOR side panel armor and feel that it is definately worth a write up. The fit is exellent, the material is quality, very impressed overall with the product. Anyhow, here it goes.
First off, contact T&A-XJ here on Naxja and purchase yourself a set. He has a few styles so keep that in mind when asking for them. I'm sure he can set them up any way you'd like, but I got mine standard with two holes for a brake light and another for either a turn signal or a back up light. The holes came in a 6" Oval and a 2" circle, so order your lights accordingly. I went with 6" Red LED oval's in the stop, turn, tail light flavor and a set of amber 2" 9 bulb LED for the turn signal.
This is what they look like from T&A
They come with hex bolts, but I needed longer bolts because of body damage that I had, so I went to the hardware store and purchased phillips head 1" and 2" stainless steel bolts to replace the hex style.
I chose to paint mine flat black, but you can paint them any style you'd like. Its a good idea to paint them before you install them on your Jeep because once they are bolted up, you'll probably not want to remove them as some of the bolts are a pain to get to. Also, when painted, you'll have less of a chance of trapping rust between the armor and the body panel...always a good idea to reduce the rustage.
Step 1.
Assemble all the tools you'll need for the project, make sure you have enough of everything so you don't have to rush back to the hardware store for anything, grab a beverage of your choice and go at it. Here's a list of what you'll need. (note: some installations may be different in the tools you'll need, what you may or may not have to remove, and what style bolts you decide to use. This is on a '99 XJ so your tools and parts may be different)
-THOR guards
-Gloves
-safety glasses
-a drill
-1/4" drill bit
-a punch
-a ratchet strap
-1/4" wratchet with a 4" extension and a 10mm socket
-either a hex driver if you're using the supplied bolts or a screw driver if you use a different style bolt
-a wratchet wrench (or a standard wrench) and a socket for the size nut you'll be using (mine were 7/16")
-a 10mm wratchet wrench or deep well socket
-the supplied bolts and washers or you own hardware
-RTV in your choice of color
-LED's for the turn signals and brake lights
-waterproof, shrink wrapped butt splices
-a razor blade
-wire cutters/strippers
-electrical tape
-a heat source
-a wratchet strap
Step 2-
Remove the tail lights by removing the three 10mm bolts that secure the lense to the body.
Step 2b-
Remove the light bulbs from the lense by turning them about a 1/4 turn until they pop out. Clip the wires from the bulb leaving about an inch between the cut and the bulb just incase you decide later on to get cold feet and put the stock stuff back on, you'll be able to splice the bulbs back in. When you clip the wires off, make sure you mark the wires and seperate them so that you know what wires go where....ie, bundle and mark the red bulb, the the amber, then the back up light.
Step 3-
Remove the fender flares if they are still installed. You'll do this by using the 10 MM wratchet wrench or deep well socket and removing the nuts that hold the bolt strip and flare on.
Step 4-
With the tail light housings removed and the flares removed you can now begin to mark the holes for the armor. Do this by having a friend hold the armor up as you take a sip of your drink and admire how awesome this armor is going to look on your Jeep. Then grab one or two of the 10mm bolts for the tail lights and install them hand tight. Don't tighten them down yet because you'll still need to move the armor around to line it up with the body lines. Grab your wratchet strap and strap the armor from the door latch to the tail light hole and pull it tight. Tighten until you are happy with the placement of the armor on the Jeep. On the drivers side, mind the gas tank door. You'll want to make sure the door is centered in the hole in the armor so it will open properly. Its a good idea to open and shut the door a few times to make sure you got it right.
Do this to both sides.
Step 5-
With your punch, mark the center of all the holes so that your drill bit does not wander when drilling the holes.
Once all your holes are center punched, its time to drill them. Its a good idea to remove the interior panels now and make sure you don't drill into any wires or lines, but I didn't and didn't run into any issues that I know of yet.
Step 6-
With all your holes drilled, remove the armor and finish paint the panels to your desired color.
First off, contact T&A-XJ here on Naxja and purchase yourself a set. He has a few styles so keep that in mind when asking for them. I'm sure he can set them up any way you'd like, but I got mine standard with two holes for a brake light and another for either a turn signal or a back up light. The holes came in a 6" Oval and a 2" circle, so order your lights accordingly. I went with 6" Red LED oval's in the stop, turn, tail light flavor and a set of amber 2" 9 bulb LED for the turn signal.
This is what they look like from T&A
They come with hex bolts, but I needed longer bolts because of body damage that I had, so I went to the hardware store and purchased phillips head 1" and 2" stainless steel bolts to replace the hex style.
I chose to paint mine flat black, but you can paint them any style you'd like. Its a good idea to paint them before you install them on your Jeep because once they are bolted up, you'll probably not want to remove them as some of the bolts are a pain to get to. Also, when painted, you'll have less of a chance of trapping rust between the armor and the body panel...always a good idea to reduce the rustage.
Step 1.
Assemble all the tools you'll need for the project, make sure you have enough of everything so you don't have to rush back to the hardware store for anything, grab a beverage of your choice and go at it. Here's a list of what you'll need. (note: some installations may be different in the tools you'll need, what you may or may not have to remove, and what style bolts you decide to use. This is on a '99 XJ so your tools and parts may be different)
-THOR guards
-Gloves
-safety glasses
-a drill
-1/4" drill bit
-a punch
-a ratchet strap
-1/4" wratchet with a 4" extension and a 10mm socket
-either a hex driver if you're using the supplied bolts or a screw driver if you use a different style bolt
-a wratchet wrench (or a standard wrench) and a socket for the size nut you'll be using (mine were 7/16")
-a 10mm wratchet wrench or deep well socket
-the supplied bolts and washers or you own hardware
-RTV in your choice of color
-LED's for the turn signals and brake lights
-waterproof, shrink wrapped butt splices
-a razor blade
-wire cutters/strippers
-electrical tape
-a heat source
-a wratchet strap
Step 2-
Remove the tail lights by removing the three 10mm bolts that secure the lense to the body.
Step 2b-
Remove the light bulbs from the lense by turning them about a 1/4 turn until they pop out. Clip the wires from the bulb leaving about an inch between the cut and the bulb just incase you decide later on to get cold feet and put the stock stuff back on, you'll be able to splice the bulbs back in. When you clip the wires off, make sure you mark the wires and seperate them so that you know what wires go where....ie, bundle and mark the red bulb, the the amber, then the back up light.
Step 3-
Remove the fender flares if they are still installed. You'll do this by using the 10 MM wratchet wrench or deep well socket and removing the nuts that hold the bolt strip and flare on.
Step 4-
With the tail light housings removed and the flares removed you can now begin to mark the holes for the armor. Do this by having a friend hold the armor up as you take a sip of your drink and admire how awesome this armor is going to look on your Jeep. Then grab one or two of the 10mm bolts for the tail lights and install them hand tight. Don't tighten them down yet because you'll still need to move the armor around to line it up with the body lines. Grab your wratchet strap and strap the armor from the door latch to the tail light hole and pull it tight. Tighten until you are happy with the placement of the armor on the Jeep. On the drivers side, mind the gas tank door. You'll want to make sure the door is centered in the hole in the armor so it will open properly. Its a good idea to open and shut the door a few times to make sure you got it right.
Do this to both sides.
Step 5-
With your punch, mark the center of all the holes so that your drill bit does not wander when drilling the holes.
Once all your holes are center punched, its time to drill them. Its a good idea to remove the interior panels now and make sure you don't drill into any wires or lines, but I didn't and didn't run into any issues that I know of yet.
Step 6-
With all your holes drilled, remove the armor and finish paint the panels to your desired color.
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