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Rear stretch with 63" chevy leafs

X

Xjcrawler736

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Lansdale, Pa
I have been searching around for some time now for some XJ's with stretched wheel bases using chevy 63" springs but i have come up with nothing. I hear a lot about people using them but I have yet to see a build or tech on it.

I have been on pirate for some time but am new to NAXJA so maybe some help...

As my rig stands right now I have stretched the front end 3 inches with a custom built long arm setup and a HP D44. The rear is in the stock location which gives me a bad departure angle. I also want around a 110" wheel bases so I need 6" or so out of the rear. Another thing is that I am riding right around 6.5 inchs of lift so that might change what arch i need in the new chevy springs.




hopefully you guys can help...
 
flip your rear leafs around backwards and add TNT customs u-bolt eliminators. they are 3 way adjustable and you can get a total of about 6 inches with this combo.

It would look like this...
LincolntonFarmpics001.jpg
 
The thing i am worried about is that the back of the spring is weaker then the front (how they are designed) so i will get bad wheel hop and wear out the springs.

Traction bar would help solve that problem but I want to look at the other options before I go that route.
 
I have Chevy Superlift leaf springs that are meant for the front of an early Chevy. I bought them on ebay so I wasn't sure exactly how much lift it was going to give me in the rear but I was expecting about 8-9 inches of lift. When I installed them, I was disappointed cause they actually gave me 10 inches of lift, which was way too much. They stretched my wheelbase a few inches, but I do have to say that the chevy leaf springs are so heavy duty that they do no have hardly any give. The on-road ride is bouncy to say the least. You feel every little pebble. The only good thing about the setup I have right now is that I have 35 inch tires and haven't had to do any trimming. But that is IT. Anyway, here's a side view of what they look like installed. Let me know if you have any questions.
Jeep.jpg
 
jeeperguy21 said:
I have Chevy Superlift leaf springs that are meant for the front of an early Chevy. I bought them on ebay so I wasn't sure exactly how much lift it was going to give me in the rear but I was expecting about 8-9 inches of lift. When I installed them, I was disappointed cause they actually gave me 10 inches of lift, which was way too much. They stretched my wheelbase a few inches, but I do have to say that the chevy leaf springs are so heavy duty that they do no have hardly any give. The on-road ride is bouncy to say the least. You feel every little pebble. The only good thing about the setup I have right now is that I have 35 inch tires and haven't had to do any trimming. But that is IT. Anyway, here's a side view of what they look like installed. Let me know if you have any questions.
Jeep.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice rig man!!!
 
quick Q - i too need about 4-6 more inches of stretch in the rear of my 99 - how much lift were those superlift chevy springs rated at? 4 inches? how long eye to eye? thanks in advance
 
If it is to stiff take a leaf or two out. And yes dimensions would be great if you could get them. I need right around 6 inchs of lift to clear the 36s so i need to find out what arch i need from the chevy springs.
 
jeeperguy21 said:
I have Chevy Superlift leaf springs that are meant for the front of an early Chevy. I bought them on ebay so I wasn't sure exactly how much lift it was going to give me in the rear but I was expecting about 8-9 inches of lift. When I installed them, I was disappointed cause they actually gave me 10 inches of lift, which was way too much. They stretched my wheelbase a few inches, but I do have to say that the chevy leaf springs are so heavy duty that they do no have hardly any give. The on-road ride is bouncy to say the least. You feel every little pebble. The only good thing about the setup I have right now is that I have 35 inch tires and haven't had to do any trimming. But that is IT. Anyway, here's a side view of what they look like installed. Let me know if you have any questions.
Jeep.jpg
Click to expand...
If my memory serves me right, those are chevy 53s, not 63s.


Xjcrawler736 said:
The thing i am worried about is that the back of the spring is weaker then the front (how they are designed) so i will get bad wheel hop and wear out the springs.
Traction bar would help solve that problem but I want to look at the other options before I go that route.
Click to expand...
So your willing to weld on new shackle hangers, spring hangers and possibly new spring perches, but a anti wrap bar is out of the question? Seems a bit backwards, especially if you already have some sort of XJ springs.

One of my friends has some 63s on his Toy, and he seemed to have used the 3/4 ton or one ton versions. They flex like crap. This is only what he told me they were, so I dont know for sure what the springs were out of.
I seem to recall a couple XJs with Cheavies on them, but I dont have any pictures.
 
dang thats not good!

yeah 53 sounds better - 63 is long - the xj is right around 52-3 i believe

i will start looking for some lift springs - 2 inch 4 inch or 6 inch lift in them? i am looking at 4 and hopfully the stiff spring rate will net about 7 inches of lift which is where i am at with a 1.5 block, 1.5 shackle and RE 4.5 leaf pack

jeeper guy - did you use stock locations for the spring mounts/ hangers? i have a 1.5 shackle i was thinking of reusing with the chevy spring pack...


thanks again for the help - time to look!
 
Last edited:
I already took 2 leaves out that were 2 small ones, and I still about lose my teeth going down some roads, but so is life. I do not recall what they are rated at, but I am pretty sure it was a huge number, like 300 lbs or possibly even more. All I know is that the leaves are are THICK. Don't know if you can tell from the pics, but I have a complete write-up on the install on a cardomain web site if you would like more pics/details
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/803172/8
aparke4 said:
dang thats not good!

yeah 53 sounds better - 63 is long - the xj is right around 52-3 i believe

i will start looking for some lift springs - 2 inch 4 inch or 6 inch lift in them? i am looking at 4 and hopfully the stiff spring rate will net about 7 inches of lift which is where i am at with a 1.5 block, 1.5 shackle and RE 4.5 leaf pack

jeeper guy - did you use stock locations for the spring mounts/ hangers? i have a 1.5 shackle i was thinking of reusing with the chevy spring pack...


thanks again for the help - time to look!
Click to expand...
I used the stock locations for everything. The shackles are a must cause the springs may be just a hair shorter eye to eye than the XJ leaf springs. The one thing you'll want to be prepared for is getting some very large shims to make sure your pinion angle is going to be okay, cause without them, the chevy leaf springs will pretty much have your pinion yoke pointing straight forward. Let me know if you have any more questions. I think I answered them all so far...

Oh yeah, as a side note, my Jeep isn't really that shiny, but it was just such a bright day that the photo was taken that it covered up all the dents/blemishes! ha
 
Last edited:
do you know what leaves you used and how much lift they are rated for? i have found a few sets of superlift, etc and just dont want to get too much lift out of them...
 
I'm not sure on the exact leaves, but there are numbers on there if you would like me to give them to you. I think they refer to the Superlift model. Let me know if you need them.
 
sure i can look up the superlift numbers - i just want to see how much lift they are rated at

an s-10 leaf pack? what year? just stock or the zr2 whatever model?
 
sure i can look up the superlift numbers - i just want to see how much lift they are rated at

an s-10 leaf pack? what year? just stock or the zr2 whatever model?
 
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