I would do a shackle reversal, with either waggy springs front an rear, or yota springs, they are wider than the jeep springs (2 inches compared to 2.5 inches), an a little stiffer, but still flex good, you dont have to worry about bending em.
I would use a chev 63" long rear main spring in the rear if you have room. One thing to remember is the longer the spring, the better the flex.
Yota rear mains outa a 84-88 have a moved forward center pin hole, which may be what ur lookin for with lengthin ur wheelbase, but then u will have to deal with ur steering.
uhh. no.
You will have to worry about bending springs depending on how your pack is built. More to do with spring clamps/leaf count/thickness, spring rate, Perches/u bolt clamps style, shocks, shackle location.
Chevy 63" rears would be a fawking packaging nightmare on a CJ-5. 10-15" too long of a spring. Terrible aproach/departure angle no matter were you put them. spring rate is completely off for the application.
leaf spring flex has a little to do with length, but more to do with shock location/angle/length, shackle design, length, and location. Matching the spring rate to your vehicle is a very important part of a well working leaf spring rig. Spring rate will be completely off if you stick a 1 ton truck spring under a 3500 # jeep. Taking leaves out to lower the rate is going to compromise the integrity of the spring and increase wrap.
A toyota spring has been used with some success in lighter applications. The geometry with the really offset center pin causes EXTREME pinion dive under droop in a shackle reversed situation with the short end of the spring fixed to the frame. Some on this forum SWEAR by shackle in the front for offroad used. I believe them. My rig is alot more multi purpose. a driver so to speak, I have the fixed end of the spring in a "reversed" location, but no shackle, im using slider boxes. Some claim the reversed shackle rides better on the road, and decreases the chance of springs bending from "bumping" obstacles, but in a front shackle application a good traction bar will keep this from happening.
A well thought out traction bar system is going to be an essential if you are steering toward a flexier spring, especially if this thing is near stock weight.
You also have to consider going to a shackle reversal often requires a long slip driveline. Alot of guys say the frontend feels like its "walking" away from the rig when climbing with a shackle in the back of the spring, on the front.
How much unsprung weight do you have? tire/wheel weight? axle weight? steering setup? Lets see some pictures of the rig in question, that might help with the decision making. How tall do you want this thing? what size tires? How much flex are you trying to acheive? uptravel available in the chassis? downtravel? How much more are you wanting to stretch the wheelbase? :corn:
