39 Mercury door latch springs replacement - advice needed

[Mercuray]

Hello, I have to replace the door latch spring on my 39 Mercury convertible, and I am having a problem in getting the coiled springs to fit. It appears that the spring must be compressed or coiled to fit the lock. I have seen a post about coiling the spring and holding with a clamp (which I will try), but is there any other way to do this? Due to the age of the lock (and the fact that it is a Mercury lock), I do not want to bend/break any tabs to get the spring in place. Any help that you can provide is deeply appreciated.