hard to say. Just by looking at it, I would not put any stock in that comparison. But can you bounce the car. The old bounce trick will tell you something. Get it bouncing and then stop, and it should stop immediately. If it does, then the shocks still have some damping left in them.

i looked at the spring gap in the rear and its still has a good gap. its easy to bounce the rear compared to the front. i guess the rear strut mounts sit lower on a 240. maybe i can make some 1inch shims to raise it in the rear. and cut half a coil in the front to bring it down about an inch in front.

some new engine bay pics

Nice looking engine bay!!

I just noticed that it appears the reason it turned out so glossy on the dash is b/t the coats of paint are way too thick. You need to do many light coats not fewer wet coats. If I were trying to replicate the dash finish, I would use satin or semi-gloss and maybe shoot 5-8 extremely light coats. Dust coats at first. I don't think you ever want to see a wet coat as you see in the previous photos.