Thanks for the tip on the clamps. I'll go to homedepot - faster, cheaper and it will be made in the USA; maybe not the steel, but the fabricator (me) is American. Is there any advantage to unclamping the rear section of the springs?
For anyone else wondering about the shocks, if you go to Autozone and ask for a shock for a 1969 Dodge D100, you can get Gabriel part number 82054, and those are 24.5" extended. On Monroe's mounting reference sheet it says the Darts and D100s have the same mounting hole size and style. On the website it says they are only $16.99 each. I'll probably try those and get some front drag shocks.