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!