The modified coil spring was returned to its normal length by slicing off the welded-on addition. The upper A arm had the old bushings removed (air chisel did the trick), but the arm was apparently bent along the curved shaft that bolts to the crossmember. The two mounting holes no longer match up.
A look at the shaft shows that there is a bend that isn't supposed to be there. I measured the inside distance between bushing openings, finding 13 1/4" on the still-installed side, and 13" on the re-bushed side. My guess is that the arbor press had a tough go of it and warped the shaft/arm when pressing the new bushings into place.
Now it's another un-planned purchase pending, for a replacement upper A arm (with bushings already in place!).
Sigh.
![Sad :(](./images/smilies/icon_sad.gif)