67 Barracuda Rear Seat Internal Parts

Just drill a hole in the metal plate and use an extension spring from the hardware store. It works great and is on the inside where nobody can see it anyway.

Your rod is probably bent because your mechanism is binding up. Solve that problem and then straighten out the rod and you will be fine. If you put in another rod without solving the binding problem, it will just bend too.

Will cost you about $2 for a spring.

That is what I did on mine.