Today I came up with the idea of making a mock up axle out of wood to make it easier to mess around with for designing. I had some chunks of lumber around that would work, some misc tubing to use for mock links, and I can make brackets from some plywood. If I clamp things in place I can move it around by hand to see how it moves and where it hits, etc. I used some scrap pieces to build up the area where the diff is located. Obviously its not the same as a full size axle diff but should help seeing the up travel limits in most cases.
The length I used is from the inside face of the brake rotor on each end which is about 59". That way I can cut out some 35" circles of plywood to act as a mock wheel/tire later on and it should be somewhat close.
Here I have it centered side to side...
And its sitting at the approximate height for the new tires and in the stock axle position front to rear.
Piece or 1-3/4" fence top rail I can use for one of the links.
For the time being I am looking at parallel 4 link or 3 link suspensions and moving the axle forward an inch or so.