I got this idea from another forum so don't give me full credit!
On my 59 Apache the springs are a little tough to stretch by hand so just use a floor jack to stretch the spring. Once its stretched, use wrenches (like me) or any other hard material to fill the spaces to keep the spring stretched. Remove the spring and install. I pulled the wrenches out one at a time (keeping my fingers clear of the spring of course) or if the spring pulls out enough when you close the hood, the spacers will simply fall out!