Center drag link, are they really $600? 1964 dart

Hey...I've seen idiots heat coil springs to lower cars that had them. I once heated the front edge of the leaf springs in my Camaro to lower it....and one snapped a few months later.
Anyone with an understanding of metal should know what is safe and what isn't. I'm not against pushing the boundaries a bit but in this case....why? The right part can be found with zero risk to anyone else on the road.