Disconnect A/C

I have a 1971 Chevelle that had a tired old 307 that I replaced with a 383 Stroker. I have factory A/C that I did not disconnect thru the cleaning & painting of the engine bay that I know am trying to decide if I should replace the old long GM compressor with a newer GM compressor. I have been told this is the way to go.

If I wanted to disconnect the A/C myself and make the compressor change at a later date, looks like I could disconnect the suction line at the evaporator coil and the vapor line at the fitting at the condenser coil.
Any feedback is appreciated!!

John

I would stay with original equiptment and R12. Is the unit working? Do you have leaks?

I would stay with original equiptment and R12. Is the unit working? Do you have leaks?

It did work before I made the swap. My concern is that it is now leaking at the vapor line between the compressor & cond coil.

O rings and seals can be replaced easy. If the line is bad that still does not warrent changing compressors. The first step is to check the freon charge. Just for fun go to E-bay and see what commpressors are selling for.