Two ways to go faster; more rpm or higher final drive ratio. Most of us do not drive our trucks like they were driven back in the day. I think we're used to driving in near silence, no road noise, no engine noise, no gear noise. Our trucks had and have all these normal sounds in spades. Fact is if they're in good shape (as they should be to hit the highway) as in brakes, suspension, tires and steering they'll run 60 no problem. Will sound like they're going a lot faster and something is about to come thought the hood. Not the cases though (assuming alls in decent shape).
So, need to slow down the engine and still go fast. That's easy. T5 transmission from a Chevrolet S10. Lot of final drive and 1 gear ratios to choose from. I like my setup of 4.10s in the rear and .73 5th gear. You just have to be careful and not go too high or you'll only be able to use 5th when driving with a tailwind. Many get to the sweet spot of balancing HP and final drive with a simple rear gear change or complete late model rearend swap. This gives the added benefit of modern rear brakes.
Hit the search button and search T5 transmission and rear end swaps. Lots of reading material for sure.
Good Luck,
RonR
