Karl wrote:
>>I have read on this list of happy users of R-134.  When I mentioned that to
my mechanic here in Phoenix, he asked if the advice came from "back east".
He told me that here in the desert, R-134 basically does not work.
<<

Karl, your mechanic is right.  New cars with their specifically designed
R-134 systems do well in any environment but R-12 systems are not optimized
for R134 and just don't generally perform well enough for your climate.  As I
said,  here in Maine the conversion was successful and I would do it again
under the same circumstances.  I would not however do it to my Vanagon
because of the complexity and cost of components... too risky.  I was able to
completely rebuild my Oldsmobile A/C system for only $550.  The dealer wanted
$1200. to replace the failed lines and recharge with R12.  The decision to
rebuild and convert was easy.

Eric