New to me 1976 K5

[Frijolito1988]

Hey guys me and my pops just picked up this 1976 K5 blazer, in all honesty this is our first 4x4 truck, we have had a lot of 67-72 2wd but never a k5.

It has an 8 Inch lift and came with 35 inch tires. We are not a fan of how big the truck sits so we are going for a modest 4 inch lift with some 33x12.5x15.

Here is the tricky part, never played with 4x4 trucks I dont really know much about these lifted suspensions

The old owner said he swapped the rear differential to a HD one with 8lug and did a front conversion to go from an 6 lug to an 8 lug. The rear hanger is not stock and looks to be longer to accommodate the 8 inch lift.

I personally think the HD 8 lug should be left alone but pops wants to go back to a 6lug , we even bought another donor truck yesterday 76 K5 Cheyenne no engine / tranny.

My question is what is the upside of having the beefier 8 lug vs the 6 lug ?

Is the 6 lug 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton
Or are all K5 3/4 ton 6 lug ?

8 lug being 1 ton ?

Since it has an 8 inch lift right now and we want to go to a 4 inch what kit do you guys recommend ? I notice most lift kits for 4'' only come with the front new leaf springs, shocks, blocks and u joints . Since we do not know what type of leaf springs are on the 8inch lift do we have to find some stockers ?

I am doing a lot of research on my end and any help would be appreciated. Pictures to follow. Thanks!

[dmack91]

6 lug was factory standard for 1/2 ton 4x4 and Blazers . 8 bolt are transplants from a 3/4 or 1 ton.

Should be able to bolt in 4" front springs without any problems. Shocks will need to be replaced and the driveshaft will probably have to be shortened.

Rear lift is usually lift blocks. If yours has a big lift block on the back, you should be able to go to a smaller block. If it is a spring lift, you will need to swap them out. Again prob need new shocks and shortened driveshaft.

[langss]

As long as you have the Donor truck, and you are planning on using the rear axle out of it, just drop the leaf springs still attached to the rear axle and bolt them back up on your truck. I have never seen an 8" lift that used Blocks. I have seen rear springs that were arched to give an 8" lift, but you didn't say what exactly was under your current truck. 33" tires will fit under a stock height truck, I did it for years. There is interference on the right front, but only when making hard right turns. There are still available lift kits for the square body trucks, but as each year passes, the demand passes as well. You may want to consider a complete conversion back to stock for ease of replacement parts. Also you should check for cracks in the frame where the steering box bolts on. Trucks that didn't get the extended steering arm are very prone to cracks because of it. I hope this helps. I have had my 76 for 34 years and over 300,000 miles so I know a little bit about them.