My 496 is set up as follows:
4 bolt billet caps,ARP rod and head bolts, block filler,
Scat steel crank and H beam rods, Ross 13:1 pistons, Comp CB 323B-R12 Roller cam .782/720 lift 289/289 duration @.05 112 lobe sep., Comp lifters, Manley Nextec springs open pressure approx. 800 LBS,Crower roller rockers,Moroso Stud girdle, Old world products cast iron heads, ported & polished, ended up w/ combustion chambers @ 122 C.C. runners are 320 CC. 2 1/8 Lemons headers,Edelbrock Victor , 1050 Dominator , 6al w/ comp 9000 dist. locked out using msd start retard box. Turbo 400 reverse pattern w/ 5000 stall.
Pulls hard thru the traps but I'm worried about the 7700 RPM?? Do you think I'm safe or stupid???Two more races this season then I'm thinking of higher gears to drop max rpm into the 7000 range. I'm running 4:56's now. I have about 20 passes on the car. What do you guy's think???

That's wound pretty tight for a 496. That's also alot of gear ratio for a "torque" motor.

I'd at least drop back to a 4.10 gear, maybe even consider a 3.73 or a 3.90.

I don't have time right now, but you probably need to calculate your converter slippage and see if that's also part of the rpm problem (i.e. excessive slippage).

I would worry about the rods unless they are the super good variety. That is an awful lot of cam for a reasonably heavy door slammer you might come down a little on both the cam and gearing and make it live a little longer.

If you are considering a higher gear like a 4.10 or so you really should consider a cam change. I think a 4.10 gear with a cam about 15dg shorter duration would be a better match for a 5k converter. The 4.10 will also help kill some of that tire spin you seem to have (looking at the 60' in your sig). Also, the combination of a 4.10 and a shorter cam will probably push your stall up some.

I think the board members are right in recommending a 4.10 gear and a little less cam. That should pick up the mid range some. I agree about your converter also. Going thru at that RPM should be about 137-140 MPH with 29" tires and 4.56 gears. Cam about 270-275 degrees should get you close. The cam you have is even kind of big for a 540. A turbo 350 transmission will pick up a tenth and should hold up if built by someone thats good like ATI. There is an easy tenth in the first 60'. What is the suspension set up like?