Got some new KYB struts for the front of my '85 z28. Do I REALLY need this compression tool? I know people that have done it without, but the repair manual says to use one and so does the parts store.......

I thought you just lower the A arm carefully with the jack?

 

You don't need one but it doesn't hurt anything.
I didn't use one, just used the jack and some rope to make sure the spring didn't fly out. The rope just holds the spring to the lower a-arm. Some guys have had success with a metal bar or broam handle shoved up through the a-arm and spring.
It isn't a hard job.

 

Nope don't need it.

I just put my jack under the control arm and jacked it up and had no problems. You don't need to drop the control arm down though. I just left mine on the jack through the whole process. It's pretty simple.

 

You don't remove the spring to install the struts on a third-gen. So it's absolutely not needed for a strut install.