[fiftyv8]

I know it is slow and messy, but I like the leaf removal method.
Use the body weight of the car to reload the leaves.
I've saw a rear spring let go on a 36 Ford coupe and boy was there some energy released when that took off.
Again, more by just plain old good luck nobody was injured/killed.
That car had reversed eyes which made things more difficult for the guys taking it out.

My buddy always replaces the center bolt with a new one when doing this work.
When you realise how much load that take and they are only mild steel.
He uses a longer bolt with lots of thread and then cuts off the waste when everything is set.
He now also uses the leaf replacement method.