Borrow a gauge to see how much (if any) R12 remains. If it needs to be evacuated you might check with local AC techs. I once operated a non-road machine with an R12 system and found a local tech who would make house calls (so to speak).

Regarding the advice to leave the AC equipment intact - I say pull it all out if you want to. Unless you are planning to resell, why configure your Vanagon for the next owner? I removed the AC from my Syncro and enjoy having the extra working space that a compressor-less engine provides. The extra room in the overhead is not inconsequential either. So climate permitting, go for it.

Heaters on the other hand, I enjoy. More are better.

Angus 

> On Mar 11, 2016, at 3:43 AM, jbclem <jbclem1@CHARTER.NET> wrote:
> 
> Just to be clear...I don't want to strip all AC parts from this Vanagon (1986 sunroof/non-Westphalia).  I just want to remove the compressor because it gets in the way of working on the left side of the engine.  I also don't like air conditioning so I won't miss it.  I'm not going to throw away the compressor and it's bracket,  so in the unlikely event that I sell the car it'll still be available for hookup.
> 
> The problem is I can't drive the car to an AC shop for evacuation...I temporarily cancelled the insurance and my insurance agent reported this to the Calif. DMV, who then arbitrarily suspended the registration.  
> 
> I was hoping someone had figured out a DIY method to evacuate the system.  I just found out that Autozone will lend out a vac pump, so that's a starting point.