[Shop-talk] car a/c work

[Jorge Garcia]

As we say in Texas "I am fixing to do" some car a/c work and need advice. One of the cars involved is a 1987 Volvo 740 with the original R12 system. I have never touched the a/c system on this car all the 8 years that I've owned it. It was low on freon when I purchased it and I rolled down the windows and drove that way for a couple of years. Then it went into storage for five years. I have now revived it gotten it to pass the state emissions and safety inspection but I want air conditioning.
How do I test for leaks since the system is virtually empty? I have never done any a/c work on my cars but I do have a/c gauges for r12 and r134 and a few other a/c tools are available to me from friends.
Any advice/comments on this project will be greatly appreciated.
Jorge