I read Steve's post with some interest. I made such a compressor some years ago and used it to compress (not remove) the rear springs so I could change the trailing arm bushings in a 114 chassis. Naturally I figured I could use it to compress and remove the front springs on my 123 chassis. In fact, the original factory design compressor was not a whole lot different. Well, coming out was OK, even though the springs bent quite a bit under compression. BUT, I had no success compressing the springs for reinstallation. The front springs are quite long and want to bend. On mine, the lower plate would slide to the side to the point where the rod bent. I even made some 1/4" plywood discs that I slid between the coils and stacked on the rod to stop the slipping (which didn't work). I ended up borrowing the right compressor from a kind soul. So, I wonder where I went wrong.