I have had several people comment about the speed of the trucks. I am not a good enough mechanic to explain it, but I do remember these truck from new. The smaller ones, half tons, etc. would run at a normal speed of an automobile, but the big ones would not. I remember my grand father had a 1953 Studebaker. It was new at the time, and that truck also was slow. Even with no load, on a long grade, it would be necessary to shift down. My truck has a two speed rear axel, and by shifting to the lower speed most of the time it is not necessary to down shift. These trucks were heavy, even with no load, and with only a 100 horse power motor, you are not going to get much speed out of it.
