Job is done. They feel and look awesome!
Pics of the new look should be up in the next couple days. Rain today and I need to bathe and wax.
Job review
I didn't take any pictures. Don't see the need as this thread covers almost everything. An impact wrench is your friend!!! Wish my compressor would push one. That was the only real hindrance for this backyard mechanic. The back springs were easier to complete than changing the oil (which I did while the car was up off the ground) though I was confused on which way is up for the springs. The fronts were a different story. Without an impact wrench I had a very hard time getting the nut off the bottom of the strut. I didn't round them but they not as pretty as new!! Other than wishing for some of the latest in tools I got the struts off with no other problems. No impact wrench means I was cranking down on the spring compressor with a 19mm opened ended wrench. I finally grabbed a lifeline and called a friend who does have an impact wrench and compressor to push it. Mine only manages 4.5scfm@90psi. With his help we got the new springs on the struts in about an hour. For a backyard mechanic this was probably the spookiest part. The thought of a failure of some kind while compressing the springs - Painful. Back in my garage 40 miles away about 7pm last night. I figured 30 minutes each side to put them back on. First one was on in 20 minutes. No extra hands available so simply grabbed the brake caliper and pulled up to get the 3 nuts on the top started. Torqued that pesky bottom nut to 75fp. Passenger side has some wire harnesses that run under the brace and make getting the 3 top nuts on a bit challenging. Dropped one. 15 minutes to find it. B@*s!a^d. Finished up with no issues after that. One last look at everything. Put the wheels back on, off the jacks and a 10 mile run around the block to test everything. No shimmies, shakes or rattles. Drove in to work this morning (26 miles) and feels just great. I'm stoked.
I started this job Friday evening and finished Monday night. Total working time was about 4 hours.