So my car has a working AC system that I couldn't discharge when I pulled the engine. Now the engine's gone and I've still got a charged A/C system. What's the recommended approach? I'd feel guilty cutting good lines. Should I offer the whole system free to whoever will come get it?

The R-12 can be reclaimed but cutting the lines isn't your best approach. That'll be very messy with all of the oil that'll come out with it. You could find an unused R-12 container and pull a vacuum in it, then use an AC manifold to vent the system into the container. California is so tightly regulated that you may not find too many home mechanics with all of the stuff needed to pull it off.

Where are you located, I'd be willing to come help you if you're not too far away, I'd love the parts to get my ac working. I'm near Sacramento .

I'm in China at the moment, but the car's in Redwood City. I'm pretty sure I want to keep the interior stuff for an eventual retrofit using more modern parts, but the compressor, lines, condensor, fan etc, would all need to go anyway, so those are the parts I want to remove but can't. It sounds like I'll need to get in touch with someone on here once I get back home.

If you can get the car to a shop that has the proper equipment to deal with the refrigerant, that's probably the easiest way to go.

--DD

http://www.euroquattro.com/index.htm

Doug, I'd have to have it towed there and back. Not out of the question, but I was hoping that maybe there was a magic solution I wasn't aware of. Would a "travelling" A/C repair guy be able to do the job with no engine?