Rob - If I could find a link to where I've talked about this before, I would cuz this feels like I'm repeating myself (again).

The standard / traditional Holley 850 isn't "too big", but it's got a large venturi-to-throttle-bore ratio 1.56v x 1.75t and "meh" boosters that don't generate great signal.

The original 80496 "950" w/ 1.38v x 1.75t won't make more power on an engine dyno, but can run quicker & faster at the track because of better throttle response and shift recovery for some (many?) combinations. IMO, the more limited a combination is by converter speed and gear, the more likely the improvement.

I know 4 people, including myself, who swapped those two carbs at the track and saw .15 to .2 tenths and 1.5 to 2 MPH improvements with the 80496; in my case it dropped my 60-ft from 1.70 to 1.55 ET & MPH went from 11.7 at 117 to 11.5 at 119. The engine dyno showed basically no difference between them; it came out on the ET slip.

If I was buying a new carb today for a similar application, I'd try a Proform / Brawler "950" race carb w/ 1.45v x 1.75t simply because they're more affordable and more tuneable. If I stumbled across the sister "850" 1.40v version cheaply enough, maybe one of those. However, the "850" doesn't come with as good a booster as the "950" does.