If anyone has any tips I could use them. Have a 68 Elky SS396...I pulled out the upper and lower control arms, springs, etc etc for rebuilding and now am having a heck of a time getting the springs back in. The lower arms are reinstalled and I'm about stumped finding a spring compressor stout enough to compress the springs enough to get them back in.

OK guess I should have read a few post before asking...found some good tips. I thought about going down through the upper shock mounting hole but the threaded rod an my compressor is too large to go through the hole. Would it hurt anything to make the hole a little larger to accomodate the compressor rod?

Steve. I went to HomeDepot and got a 1/2" all thread about 3' long. I used a 1/4" thick plate for the bottom and a large washer on top. I went all the way through lower control arm.
Since the upper hole is your shock mount, I wouldn't enlarge it.

Oh just do it the old fashioned way. set the spring in the upper bucket and rest the lower in the A-arm cradle, set a floor jack under the A-arm. Run a chain in a loop starting under the floor jack, up over the frame and back, to keep the car from lifting when you jack up the A-arm. Make sure the spindle and shock are mounted to lower arm and jack it up to the upper enough to start threading the nut. The shock will act as a saftey incase the spring should pop off the lower cradle. I've done it dozens of times that way quick and easy.

Steve. I went to HomeDepot and got a 1/2" all thread about 3' long. I used a 1/4" thick plate for the bottom and a large washer on top. I went all the way through lower control arm.
Since the upper hole is your shock mount, I wouldn't enlarge it.

I made mine also, use a double piece of wood on the bottom with washers and put each side in about 20 minutes.

http://www.leverfamilysite.com/Spring%20Compressor_small.jpg (http://www.leverfamilysite.com/images/Friends%20and%20Rides/Ray_Griffens_Car/Front/Spring%20Compressor.jpg)http://www.leverfamilysite.com/Left%20Front-Home%20made%20spring%20compressor_small.jpg (http://www.leverfamilysite.com/images/Friends%20and%20Rides/Ray_Griffens_Car/Front/Left%20Front-Home%20made%20spring%20compressor.jpg)