I just picked up a TII and I have a question on the steering wheel. The question is how much play should there be, if any, from side to side and how tight should it feel? I haven't had one of these for a while so I don't have anything to compare against.

 

Little to none. Tie rods are pretty inexpensive and definitely worth replacing. There's not really a rag joint like older american cars that can cause slop, it's usually one or multiple tired tie rods.

 

There should be zero play...

If your tie rods aren't worn, the other common wear item are the u joints on the steering shaft itself. The tiniest bit of play in one of those can translate into a lot of play from the driver seat.