About time that I put something back together.
Parts waiting for assembly. Bump stop/dust gaiters not in the greatest shape but are original FoMoCo parts and will still do the job.
These are the instructions that came with my NOS strut inserts. There are couple points that are not in the workshop manual or Haynes repair manual, first is to fill the remaining space between insert and tube with engine oil to prevent corrosion and the second is that "special" nut should not bottom out when tightened.
Topping off with oil. For ease of handling I bolted the strut on top of a scrap rotor. And then the problems started "special" nuts that I had were not correct, they bottomed and the insert was left rattling in the tube, not good.
A few choice words and closer look later I deduced that correct nuts must have come with the inserts back in the day but mine were of course missing.
Luckily I found one nut from my pile of parts that was the correct size for these exact inserts, that gave me the dimensions I needed;
That still left me one nut short of a pair (heh..) so I modified one of the misfits. Using a poverty lathe (drill and angle grinder) I machined a washer and a small piece of tube to press fit inside the nut. After that filed it level not forgetting to add a chamfered edge in the center to allow for strut inserts seal.
After that diversion I could continue with the assembly;
Pair of assembled struts Even though it was not mentioned in the instructions I added Loctite to the troublesome "special" nuts. Top nut can be torqued to correct spec only after installation. Couple small nicks to touch up on the paint work tomorrow courtesy of my crappy "widow maker" spring compressors and I can cross these off my list.