yeah, you got it. try to at least loosen the top nut with the
suspension loaded up (on the ground). i think i had to use some vice grips on the piston arm to keep it from rotating (kind of how you have to with shocks sometimes, so the nut doesnt just spin).
also, as i said, you should only need to remove the one center nut. you could come real close to not even needing an alignment if you dont move the other surrounding nuts (i was confused about the CC plate mentioning - the plate on a stock car is not a real CC plate, as you cant really adjust castor with it). i consider dedicated CC plates as aftermarket only parts.
when you have the struts out, check the top bushing. sometimes they dont look too hot. if you are ever gonna get real CC plates, now would be the time, as they dont use the stock bushings up there (so you could save some money, if you need top bushings).
sorry for the repair manual dig - i could not remember how good the write up is in there, and im always amazed at how many people dont have one (i did not realize it was you, CJ - i know you know what's up).
good luck.