76 Skyhawk build need some tech answers HEELLPPP!!!!

[Bigtab]

I'm building a wild custom V-8 6-speed 76 Skyhawk. I got most things nailed down, but I'm looking for answers to questions on some odd things.
Do the late 70's vette armrests replace the Skyhawk armrests? I have a Vette catalog and they look similar but I can't tell if they're indentical. The Vette guys don't know jack!
I'm looking to do a power rack and pinion in my 76. I'm looking at useing an 89 Skyhawk power rack and 78 Regal outer tie rod ends with a custom sleeve to the inner 89 skyhawk ends. Anyone done a rack? What worked for you?
I'm looking at 5-lug, 4-wheel power disc brakes. Can I use 78 Regal spindles and ball joints? The mounting ends of the ball joints all look the same. For the rear I'm useing weld on caliper brackets that hold 70-80 Camaro front calipers and 94 Z28 Camaro rear discs. Anyone done this? What worked for you?
I'm a Body Man not a wrench, hey gear heads give a heads up! PLEASE!!!

[SunbirdMan]

There doesn't seem to be an easy solution for rack and pinion. I'm still trying to figure it out. But off hand I'm guessing that an 89 skyhawk has the rack behind the front wheels. This means the rack is moving the opposite direction than a rack mounted in front of the wheels. So if you managed to get it installed, you would turn the steering wheel to go right and the wheels would turn left. Checkit out ,I could be wrong.
I'm kinda picky about retaining the h-body geometry so I'm not satisfied with any of the solutions so far. Another problem for me is that most of the junkyard racks I've looked at have a limited side-to-side travel. This works for the vehicles they are made for because they use shorter steering arms on the steering knuckles. The 78 regal spindles arms are about an inch longer than the stock h-body arms. The s10 arms are about a half inch longer. The longer arms require more lateral travel of the rack to achieve tha same turning angle of the wheel.
Then if we get all this figured out. The steering shaft will have to drop down to meet the rack. From the way things look to me this will run it right through the frame plate for the motor mount.
These are the reasons I've put rack and pinion on the back burner and am focusing on other projects right now.

[Bigtab]

Flaming River at www.flaming_river.com says they can make a rack that will work, it costs $800. I was looking at the 89 Skyhawk from Auto Zone it's $90, with a lifetime warranty!

[SunbirdMan]

I never looked at manual racks, just power. The h-body needs around 6" of travel lock to lock. They also need to be forward of the wheels. The only junkyard units I could find with that much travel were a Volvo unit and one out of some Chrysler product. Like a dodge intrepid maybe. I would try to mount it right where the centerlink sits. That would mean fabricating a custom cross-member-k-frame.

[Bigtab]

I'll have a look at the racks you mentioned, THANKS!