Can I just rip out my AC System?

[1972BlueC20]

I got my truck all torn apart today. I was doing a heater core replacement. Got the heater box out and got the new heater core secured in place inside the box. I also went ahead and changed out the blower motor and metal fan blade. I'm also replacing the heater blower speed resistor while I'm inside there too. I also have all the gaskets for the heater box.

I was having some troubles with air coming into the vents when driving down the road and some of you guys suggested that the blend door was stuck open or in need of a gasket to seal it off when closed. I also was having trouble with my heater control levers. Seemed they were binding a bit and were hard to move from left to right. Well now that I got everything apart I see that the lever for the door in the floor box area was tweaked and bent causing it not to close all the way hence the air coming through the vents and the binding of the controls. I tweaked everything back and it's now working smoothly. With the heater control out of the dash the levers seem to move smoothly too and the cables are all going back and forth with the lever movement. So I guess if I hook everything back up correctly it will work properly now?? Is there anything else I should check or replace while I'm inside the dash?

So I think I have all that sorted out for the most part. I also noticed that my heater air ducts were all dry rotted and torn apart or had come off where they were supposed to be hooked to. So I'm ordering new ducts and will secure everything with hose clamps to the heater box inlets and the dash vents.

Any suggestions and or help is greatly appreciated!!!

My main reason for this long post is to ask you guys a question.

I have an old dealer installed Clardy hang on aftermarket AC System in my truck. It's never blown cold since I bought it and recently it stopped blowing all together. I found out today why it stopped blowing and that's because the fuse for the blower had blown out. There may be another issue that caused the fuse to blow, so I don't know if changing the fuse is a long term fix. When the AC was working, it never blew cold. I recently got a quote to convert it to R134a for $800, and that's without a new compressor!! I passed on that deal. My compressor is an old York compressor and its making some noise, so it probably needs replacing too.

My question is can I just unhook everything and just rip the AC system out? I think the system is pretty much empty anyways of freon. I know technically you're not supposed to just bust the hoses off, but if you don't tell I won't LOL.....is there anything to be mindful of if I do that??

I may eventually install a vintage air system later down the road or just go with no AC.


Oh and I forgot to mention too, nobody in my area will mess with R12 anymore. So unless I can do the work myself, converting to R134a is the only way if I want AC. My initial idea, before the blower stopped was to just fix any leaks and recharge with R12. Nobody around here that I KNOW OF will do that for me.


Here are some pics of what I'm dealing with :