Opinions Please - BDR or Other Builders of BDR

[EM65Cobra]

Short history to explain why I'm here asking:

Cobra V1 - I purchased my first EM Cobra about 2 years ago with a blown motor and tranny. I had a local rod shop put a 347 stroker motor with a large street cam and a Demon carb. It has an AOD trans. Motor and Trans have about 1k miles on them since install. Car looks great and has a tan soft top for it. It's been dressed up a good bit. Per a request from the wife I'm part way through adding AC via the Vintage Air Front Runner System. Engine bay part is done. Just need to install the cabin side. Here's some pics: https://mightytext.net/zFYtS3

It gets tons of attention. I love it but with the solid rear 9" axle and not enough HP it didn't have the performance on the track I was looking for.

Cobra V2 - I ended up picking me up another EM Cobra that I had planned on autocrossing and road tracking. This one I put a new paint job on it but otherwise is pretty much as I got it. It has a 410 stroker motor with a Richmond 5 speed. This one however has the Corvette suspension on both front and rear so it has good power and great handling. Here's some pics of it: https://mightytext.net/zPhP6l

So now that I've owned and driven two very different cobras I've learned what I like and don't like so my plan is to sell both and have a BDR made with the best of both worlds exactly as I want it. I don't want to spend the time or money to make all of the mods I'd want to do to get either of the EM Cobras to be my "perfect" version of the car I'm looking for.

I stopped by BDR in Florida this week (I was getting off a cruise ship and their office was 15 minutes down the road so I had to stop by) and they don't have a roller like I'd like in the color/interior I want so I'm going to have to order it. I'll probably go with a custom color and I have some very specific interior design ideas that I'd like to incorporate (i.e. - not the standard look).

I'm planning on having a car (when it's finished) that's a bit more towards a show car status like V1 but with a more powerful powerplant, better suspension, better transmission. While we love to show the car we also want one that is great for LONG drives (so reliable), comfortable in the cabin (so soft and hard tops), but still has the racing capability to keep me entertained.

So my main question is based on the groups opinions: Should I order 100% through the BDR main office or one of the many Customizer/Resellers that work with BDR to get a roller and then finish it for me? Pros/Cons of each.

Keep in mind, I'm 10 hour drive from BDR in Florida. I'm in the upstate of South Carolina. While I don't have to have a local reseller (because there aren't any that I know of) the further away I get from home the less I want to go because of after the sale support.

So besides the above question, the only other one I'm trying to figure out is which engine and tranny package I should go with:
* I want it to look good
* I want it to be 500+ hp
* I want it to be reliable

The last question is from the guys that have BDRs, what options do you wish you had gotten and/or wish you had not gotten in your cars?

Looking forward to your thoughts,

Thanks