4/6 Drop Problem

[cruisinthe34]

Been working on my 4" drop on the front of my '71. First of all I cant seem to get a coil spring compressor in there to compress the spring. I've tried the one that goes up inside the spring as well as the compressor that is two outside rods. I'm wondering if positioning a floor jack under the lower control arm before breaking the ball joints loose would be enough to contain the spring.

Second issue is the cotter pins through the ball joint castle nuts. They we so deteriorated that one has now broken off flush with the outside edge of the nut. I have two choices, POSSIBLY drill through or actually grind the rivets of the upper ball joint off.

Any insights will be much appreciated.
__________________