questions about aftermarket AC units

[Marcel 1969]

Good afternoon,
My '69 Camper Special is finally getting the attention it needs and deserves. My new bride found our truck sitting on a corner of Apple Valley, California, which is in the High Desert. Even at 19, she had an eye for great vehicles. Anyways, fast forward 42 years, and we still own the truck. I am mostly retired and enjoy making the truck run great. I left all the old patina, polished the original bright work, and got a few clear coats over the paint before reinstalling the trim. It looks good. Here's what I need help with. Our truck has an aftermarket Clardy "Cust-O-Matic" AC that gave up its ghost long ago. I don't want to rebuild it as the components have been exposed to lots of salt air, and I figure I would have fewer phantoms to chase if I went with one of the reputable aftermarket AC manufacturers. Based on my research, Vintage Air and Classic Auto Air are at the top of my list. I like the CCA unit's looks, reviews, and routing, but when I looked at their instruction manual, I was groaning because it is very poorly written and illustrated. On the other hand, the VA manual is well written and illustrated, BUT it appears their system is larger and clunkier than the CCA install, as it requires the radio to be taken out along with the gauge cluster and dash cover. The VA manual also states that the radio may not fit back without modification. So the question(s) I have are, have any of you installed a Vintage Air system, and have you had any issues putting your radio back in or moving/modifying other under-dash components? What has been your experience if you have installed either of these units? Appreciate any feedback. By the way, I did take all of the old wiring out last summer and installed a Painless system along with a 135 amp alternator, that was a lot of work, and half of the 100 hours it took me was spent cleaning all the old crud off the frame and taking pictures. Glad I bought a solid desert truck.