I know nothing about air conditioning, so this might seem a stupid post. My wife's '79 244 has all the stuff for A/C, but it hasn't worked since she bought it about 3 years ago. The hoses have been disconnected and a friend tells me that it will have enough crud in it that the whole system should be replaced if we want it to work. The compressor turns freely, so it isn't causing any problems witht the PS pump.

The questions:
1. Is my friend right - he has been in every instance before? The guy is a real whiz on old Volvos.

2. What will be the best process to determine what the problem is?

3. What wil be a good source for the parts if the project is practical?

4. Any useful advice I haven't asked for specifically?

I'm going to take the car out of service for a few weeks to go over everything in detail, get rid of a little rust and have it painted.

Incidentally, the guy sold me interior door panels and power door/window setup for the cost of the panels alone and helped me pull 'em and label everything.

Thanks for the help