Hmmm, I'm still a bit confused as to where it attaches on the body side. Maybe my spring mounts have been ripped off and that's why they aren't there? There are holes on the outside of the cavity that look like the spring used to be there, but the holes are kinda bent in a way that makes me think that wasn't correct.

I'll have to take a picture tomorrow when it's light to show what I'm looking at. I'm probably missing something glaringly obvious. Also the little catches to hold the hood up vertical, I think that's what they are, have been destroyed. One side is all bent up, the other side the top tab thingy is missing. So some idiot has been in there, nothing a welder can't fix

And yes, I know just how much it sucks installing hood springs. A friend and I did it on his car once, some ford product, I seem to recall. We used another vehicle to "tow" the spring out and loop it over the notch. Worked awesome!