The whole converter slippage deal is something that would really get under my skin. With the 5 speed and a 3.27 first gear 3.54 rear gears felt really perfect in my Savoy.
When I ran the 4 speed with a 2.65 first gear I needed to run a 4.56 gear to make the clutch survive.
Now I'm back to a street HEMI box with syncronizers instead of face-plate or pro-shift gears I'm still flipping over 3.54 or 4.10's.
Running down the highway at 3000 never bothered me and I know the engine doesn't mind in fact it really likes to cruise at 3000 and seems to really smooth out at 3100 and seems really happy right there.
Gus