back to my original plan, apparently the movement is normal (have a guru I can ask)
so the new motor - plugs are original and look good
I put a bit of machine oil down each cylinder to try to minimize damage since this motor hasn't run in at least 10 years.
cleaned the cross member then removed the old rack
installed new rack
I ordered the 'wrong' steering rack, the old one had some kind of sensor in it - since this car came with or without, I'll either program the light to stay off or remove whatever it's sensing
tomorrow new parts and see if I can get this ready to go in....