Is it wise to push a 7 1/4?

Back in the '80s in H.S. I had a 70 Charger it was a 318 car I took the 318 out and put a freshly built 440 in it. I ran the original 7 1/4 rear for a few months til I scraped the money together for an 8 3/4 with 3.91 sure grip. I pretty sure a seventeen year old with a 440 isn't real easy on the gas. I was like a kid with a new toy.