I just did struts and shocks on two cars (92-150k and 93-177k), plus strut mounts, ball joints and sway bar and end link bushings, and F&R brakes. My FWIW summary and hopefully help for the next guy:

Parts:
IPD supplied first set (Sachs Automatic), front struts - mexico, rear shocks – turkey.
Tasca Volvo supplied the second pair (IPD was sold out) (Volvo - Monroe front struts –Spain, rear shocks – Belguim.
Also - Tasca Volvo ball joints and top strut mounts and IPD blue poly sway bar and end link bushings, Wagner Thermoquiet brake pads and Castrol BF.

Ttools:
Latex or nitrile gloves – the big box, put two on.
Saved some $ over an impact wrench and got a 15/16 offset wrench and ground down the back side to fit. 2 hr w/ a drill w/ a grindstone bit and a bastard file.
Sears craftsman strut compressor $50 money well spent. I could compress the strut spring 1/2 of the way with my cordless drill.
Made, but did not use the threaded rod assembly hanger. Instead I used an old chair, the strut assembly leaned against that no problem ( the bottom of the spring support rests on the seat).
Bought the largest set of channel locks for the strut cartridge nut, but still needed a small pipe wrench to break it free, after that, the channel locks worked great.
Bought a $12 panhard tool, it worked great for popping the tie rod end loose. (You can rent if for free at the local discount store).
18mm regular and deep socket (my metric set didn’t have these).

Misc info:
Obviously read the FAQ and Bentley, and make a step by step list w/ torque values to reduce page turning w/ grimey hands….
The ball joint was separated w/ the tried and true PB plaster soak, 3-4 wacks w/ a 3 lb sledge while on the vise. Connecting the new ball joint to the strut base was a little tricky, I had to use C-clamps and my vice to pull the ball joint into the base tight enough so the lock nut would go on w/o spinning the ball joint.
It was a little hard busting the top strut nut loose since you have to be somewhat of a pushmepullyou to hold the strut w/ a crescent wrench while breaking the nut loose. After that it was not an issue.
Did not have a problem swinging the control arms down to clear the top of the strut assembly out from the fender (probably needs CA bushings soon). Step on the wheel and push down on the strut top.
For the Sachs strut I opted to re-use the old strut cartridge/gland nut as it was in good shape and the new one looked cheap. For the Volvo/Monroe, it was not an option as there was only a new top nut provided.
The 92 strut mount bearings were rusty, but the 93's aren't visible, but sounded ok. Like the 92, the replacement strut mount bearings are "open" on top. I should probably get some grease down there for corrosion protection, etc.
For the first car, this job took me a Fri night prep and the next two weekends, a lot of it spent cleaning crud off and learning. The second car I did in one slam bam weekend (rear shocks, rear brakes, replace brake fluid in MCR, bleed rear, front bushings, front struts, ball joints, front brakes, bleed front, done... Hope this helps the next guy.