Are the tapered ends supposed to swivel (ball joint style) around? I can't move them by hand, and I would think they should be "fixed".
It's not just the tapers that are not aligned, but also the "eyes" for the tie rod connections (difficult to make out in my pic). The tube appears to have been swaged to each end, so i'm not sure if can be tweaked without making the joint loose. I guess the tube could be cut and a socket weld coupling inserted; remembering to keep the taper end to taper end distance correct.
As I mentioned before, I have another coming, so maybe i'll play with this if I have any energy left after rehabbing the '02s front end.