1971 Cutlass w/455 rocket engine
 

Hello all, newbie to the Olds world here. Not a great vehicle mechanic so this might be a basic question for most, and I think I know the answer just wanted to make sure I'm not missing something. So here it goes..... Just bought the 1971 cutlass that has 455 under the hood. Has the (I assume) factory AC setup that's missing some parts to be working (not exactly sure what, but AC isn't important to me at this point). So anyhow I under load their is a loud noise which I'm thinking is the ac compressor making noise ( I was told if not charged with refrigeratorant it might make nouse) so the question here is can I take the belt off going to the AC compressor without messing anything up? Thanks in advance