EDIT...for the TL;DR crowd, after it sat for more than an hour it dropped from 30" to 28" so that plus the fact the system was empty to begin with, I don't have much confidence in trying to resurrect it without a total teardown and re-seal, along with replacing everything along the way that makes sense.
--------------------
So I ran into a snag, and it's gonna show my ignorance on the subject for sure - my manifold set hoses are the same size fitting on high and low side (for the screw-on style without the quick-connect R134a adapters installed) - which the low side is correct to attach at my accumulator, but the high side behind the compressor is smaller. Low side is 7/16", high side is 3/8" - at least that's roughly the OD size of the threads when I check them with an open end wrench.
A little lost at the array of adapters out there, does someone know which one I need? Is it the 3/16" to 1/4" adapter (assuming ID) - sure seems like it.
You must be registered for see images attach
Next up - I realize this isn't a 100% valid test but I hooked up to the low side and pulled vacuum on it. It went to 30" pretty quickly. I shut it off and closed the valve and it's held 30" for 30 minutes already. I feel like that's a pretty good test, barring any blockage in the high side like the orifice or condenser, yeah? (since the high side isn't connected.) If so, that gives me hope to consider getting the clutch removal tool and pulling the broken clutch off this compressor, and installing the one I received courtesy of
@grampadirt who went out of his way to send me a spare magnet coil he had. Thank you!
Also wondering if this '93 model R12 compressor (appears original) has metric or SAE threads in the clutch hub center, so I can choose the correct tool.
Richard