Your small block will manage 3,000 RPM all day without a problem, or even 4K with no concern other that being a little noisy. Pushing the barn door shape down the road will not win any gas mileage contests. I have run those engines from 6K to 7K RPM more often than I care to remember, but that was around a circle track and an engine with 1,000 miles on it was a worn out oldtimer. We built those engines with more clearance brand new that you'll find in a 100,000 mile street engine. They only had one purpose- - - -"Go fast- - - -turn left" and do it better than the other 20 or so guys on the track!
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!