June 10, 2005 - I've actually been making some progress, even though I've not been updating my page. I removed the rear axle, springs, and mounts from the Ghia and started cleaning them. The axle housing is nearly ready to paint, and I have some parts back from the sandblaster. Hopefully both will at least get primed this weekend.
I've been looking for poly leaf spring bushings, and may have found them at ESPO. I also ordered replacement shackles from JCWhitney, but they are about 3/4" taller than the stock ones. I'll probably use the stock ones for a while longer, maybe with poly bushings. The taller ones would work well with the drop blocks that I bought from Racer Walsh as they drop the axle a bit more than I wanted.
The main reason for puling the rear axle and springs is to remove the front leaf spring mounts to look for and eliminate rust. I didn't find as much as I expected, so I'll clean the rest of the undercoating and fix the rust in the driver's rear wheelwell while the axle is out.