Quote:
the engineer said they would need to be reset the correct way
Well if an engineer responsible to the government regulations said that, I wouldn't argue with it.
Has anyone ever *actually* seen a leaf spring on a 1200 break? and if so what were the conditions?
Demo, the easy way to lower is lowering blocks. It's not the best way but works fine for street cars with mild lowering. In USA, 100s of thousands of cars have used lowering blocks and I've never heard of any bad reputation about it. I've heard lots of speculation from this forum, but no actual problem reports from those who actually used them. If you want the best handling, then don't use lowering blocks.
Next easiest is to take out the credit card and wave it in front of a spring shoppe. This is not only easy, but might result in the best ride and handling combination, and you can always sue the shoppe if the springs break afterwards.
For a ute, can you just remove two of the five leafs? Coupe/sedan springs are only a 3-leaf pack. I read that in a book so it is not a statement, just a question.