Wow, that spring picture looks so much clearer on here. I can see that the moulded plastic slot is a lot deeper than I first thought and can see that the spring can be housed there.
Good job on getting the hoses sorted out. A great success story of thinking outside the square. That bloke at the motorcycle store is a dead set legend for how he helped you out so selflessly.

Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!