Yoda - thanks for the deep dive on the beam. I totally appreciate it. Now I understand what 'normal' should look like up front.
The beam already has Avis adjusters on it. They are in the 'full up' position and even with that, the car has NO suspension travel at all. It's effectively bottomed out. When I raise the car on a jack, the suspension hangs just like it should, without hanging up at all.
Photos of what I'm up against:
Okay, so clearly I didn't count very well last night:
For the top: I count, 4 wide, and 3 skinny. (missing 3 narrow)
The bottom: I count, 4 wide and 2 narrow. (missing 4 narrow)
This gives me a grand total of minus 7 narrow. I would have to order 2 spring packs to make up for all of the missing items. I was hoping to get away with ordering just one. </me raises a greasy fist at the sky and yells out "Al!!!....">
I will take your suggestion of rebuilding the springs to the stock set up. If that means ordering two complete sets, so be it. From there, I will reassemble everything and see how she sits. At this point I can determine if drop spindles will work for my application.
Once all that is done, then I will investigate which disk brake kit to order. I will also get the shims and longer bolts for the lower beam mount. Though, doing this will also cause me to have to adjust the front bumper bracket a bit. Not a big deal, just a mental note (made out loud...)
What are these beam stiffeners I saw someone asking about? Snake oil?
Oh, then I need to figure out the front sway bar issue. Then onto the rear.
At some point, it'd be really nice to drive it....