That is insane. Literally a two hour project in a driveway with the proper tools and by proper I mean an impact would be nice but you can do it with hand tools.
I agree it's an easy job, but I believe the OP said he's 86.
At this point he's at the mercy of shop rates, and it is what it is. I think that's a tad high, but honestly, i'm seeing folks fork over $1K+ to shops to swap out springs on various vehicles these days, so i'm a bit out of touch with going labor rates.