New development....

After poking around, I saw that the bolt is still in there, but the nut was missing.
The bolt is upside down, and I can't get it out.
The issue is that the bolt is dirty & old (I tried to clean it the best I can) but when I goto put the nut on, since the bolt isn't attached at the bottom, it just spins freely after the nut only goes on a little bit. I tried to get my fingers under the bolts head to try and hold it, but no dice. I managed to get it somewhat on, after hours of playing with it.

Is this how these cars are normally setup?
If so, how in hell do you do this easily?