Sounds like a great solution!

thank you guys for the info! 

as far as paint goes I ended up taping up and blasting to the best of my ability, sprayed a rust converter primer just to be safe and then finished them with a spray on truck bed liner. It seems like the used ones i had gotten have a lot of what looks like rock chips. I'm not sure how well the truck bed liner will work but since i live on a dirt road and do a lot of driving on dirt/back roads I figured it could hurt. 

31 31 Spring strut (R56-GP2)

Tightening Torques

I believe the torque spec on that nut (center of top mount, strut to mount) is 22 ft lbs. You'll need a 5mm allen and a 16mm hex. - be sure you have a spring compressor when taking apart of the old unit for parts. (you won't be able to install the nut without the spring being compressed)

a good chassis parts paint is the VHT chassis series epoxy paints.

this is my best guess - use your head.

Hey guys! I have a 07 r56 mini that I just got some new (used). Struts for. They have low mileage (maximum 40K) and work great. My problem is that they don’t have the mounting plate  so I need to transfer mine over. Does anyone know the torque spec of the single bolt on top of the strut? Also do I torque it with pressure from the spring applied or with the spring compressed?

and for a second question, they have a a little bit of rust so when I take them apart I’ll probably blast the areas with rust and repaint, is there any recommendations on paint to use? 

thanks for the help! I just found this forum and sure hope I can become a regular part of it