Airroy,
To put the Robarts on you have to first mount them and then remove the C-clip from the upper lever and pull the pin. This will allow you to take the upper part of the strut off and fix the pants. You'll need a good pair of needle-nose pliers and lots of patience to re-assemble inside the pants, but it can be done. That's what Robart tells you to do. I also found that you can remove the bolt holding the strut to the wing mount allowing you to slide the whole strut in from the top, and then you should have enough room to move the Pant up the strut while you re-fix the bolt and nut.

As for the spring cutting, I read the same threads. I cut mine off by 1/4" as most said and found that it does "soften" the springs. I can also say that my second landing showed me why this was a bad idea. If you've read the threads on the Gee Bee you should know by now that landing is the biggest challenge. On my second landing all looked like it was going well until the plane abruptly stopped and flipped. The struts had compressed allowing the wheel pants to grab some of Mother earth which brought the plane to a sudden and complete hault. I had to buy new wheel pants and a new wing set (the struts were tourqued back through the wings!) So, I ordered up new original length springs and have not had a problem since, although I still get butterflies when landing. The stock springs might seem a bit stiff, but with the wing loading on the Gee Bee it tends to come down pretty hard.

Anyway, other than landing it's a real hoot...enjoy!

Steve