I my 76, I still have the original (working) old style compressor. It does get a little rattle at times so I figure after all this time, it may time for an upgrade. Has anyone here made this upgrade that would share the experience? As in, leave it to a shop or something that can be handled on a Saturday?

 

Since an upgrade requires a change in Freon type required by new regulations, it's not something you can complete at home. You can buy the pieces to do the installation, but at some point you'll need a shop to evacuate the system and charge it. You may also want to replace more than the compressor after all these years, as contaminants that build up within the rest of the system can cause early failure with a new compressor. Best to do a little research or contact the companies that sell the systems and get their input on how you should approach this upgrade.