I thought we moved past talking about stock ...
LOL @ 1000 rpm. Even turbo diesels don't drive around at 1000 rpm.
I don't drag it down to 1,000 rpm, but after tuning it I did alter my converter settings to drag it down to 1,200 rpm rather than the 1,500 rpm I had it at. I found 28 ft/lbs more at 1,800 rpm during the tuning session. Gas is getting more expensive and keeping that 2,800 rpm converter locked when I do not need the torque multiplication only helps mpg.
My old 5.13 geared 10.5 has a leaking axle shaft and worn spider gears and needs the drum brakes rebuilt, for a temporary measure, I swapped a 3.73 G80 I got local for $250 in its place. Will rebuild the other 10.5 later and swap it to disc brakes along with a powertrax locker so that it is fresh and ready to go. I may tame back the gears to a 4.10 or 4.56 tops as the 383 has enough grunt that 5.13s are overkill even dragging my travel trailer. At 40 mph around town I roll along in overdrive at 1,200 rpm now. On the highway I am at 2,100 rpm at 70 and 2,400 rpm at 80. Running around DFW in traffic at the posted 60 mph the 28 ft/lbs increase is noticeable as I am right at 1,800 at 60. LT275/70R16 tires. ~3,500 rpm is an important number to me because that is a little over peak torque and I tend to modulate the accelerator at a point to where my transmission shifts around peak torque when I am accelerating. Rarely a need to floor it in 99.5% of my normal driving.