As I own a SA I can attest to what makes it better. The first thing is to scrap that POS two-piece barrel they use. I would venture Masaki does this & maybe tightens the rails a bit.
As for buying a more expensive gun & having it worked on, why spend the extra money on a Kimber if it's going to be gutted?
There's several mfgrs who make 1911s with accuracy guarantees: Baer, Brown, Wilson, etc. You could just buy one of those from the get-go & be ready to roll.
As for 'smiths, there's lots of them out there. Some are really really good & some are butchers. There's a 'smith club for the Top 100 'smiths in the US but I don't know its web site.
I would ask around your local gunshops about who'd they recommend & go from there.
FWIW, I have a SA Govt Model with a Wilson NM barrel installed. Little SOB can flat out shoot.