for what its worth. I have spoken with Vic at VAE via email today, and thats who im going to go with. he seems to be a very nice guy, good pricing, and very knowledgable . I looked at some more pic of his work and it appears to be top quality.
You won't be sorry. I checked out Auto Instruments, GCars and several others and decided to go with VAE for the same reasons you just listed plus I'd rather support a forum member's business if at all possible.