Anybody remember bumper jacks? One of them modified with a couple of eye bolts or S hooks makes a handy hood spring stretcher, and the wood wedges between the coils will keep them extended long enough to assemble the spring over the hinges. Then lower the hood a little and let the wedges fall out as recommended above.
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!