[burner31]

I had the same problem, used a spare spring from my '57 Chevy, you can see it in the pic, it's the bigger spring.
It worked for awhile but it finally started to tear the spring tab on the regulator plate, so, damage done.
Moral of the story is: Other springs may work, for a while, but if it's to strong a spring it can cause more damage down the road.
Was saved/helped by a fellow Ford Barner, who set me up with a repairable regulator...you know who you are because you've repied to this tread.
Thank You again.