48 Chevy Control Arm Bushings and Seals

I'm rebuilding the stock front suspension on my 48 Stylemaster Town Sedan. I bought a new rebuild kit, and everything was going great until it came to installing the new bushings and seals. According to the original Chevy manual, you're supposed to stretch the rubber seals over the arms, screw the bushings in, then pull the seals back over the arms and into place on the shafts. That ain't happenin'. The new rubber seals that I got with the rebuild kit don't have that much stretch to pull over the arms like the book says. I tried all kinds of ways to get the seals in place without doing that, but nothing is working. What am I missing? Is there some other way of installing the bushings and seals different from the way the original manual says to do it? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!