So years ago when the a/c on my '85 GS was not working, the car had been converted from R12 to R134. At the time, this was the best solution, or pushed as the best solution. Knowing what I know years later, I am interested in restoring it to its original state with R12. My question is, what is typically required besides the compressor and possible condenser? Has anyone ever attempted this?

 

Good luck finding R12 in California. Better to make the R134a work correctly

 

The R134 works, just if there was an opportunity to get it back to R12, I would look into that. Car and I are in TX now, so there is more opportunity depending on the county. Never updated my profile, oops!

 

Also, if you convert back to R12 and ever need a recharge, that could be an issue based on the state your in. I'd rather go with something that is easy to find at any auto parts store.

 

What are the benefits of swapping back to an R12 system? R12 is so much harder to come by, although there are green R12 alternatives I think.

 

I am a big fan of the enviro-safe r12/r134a substitute. It cools as well as r12 if not better and is compatible with either oil. In my FB r134a would only cool adequately at highway speeds, otherwise the condenser was too small. Plus, this stuff is cheaper than r134a and definitely cheaper than r12 assuming you could even find it.

I also have real R12 in my FD and I feel like the enviro-safe is actually a little cooler in my old chevy truck. I'm not sure I'll put real r12 in anything else anymore

 

Buy a r134 friendly compressor and a parallel flow condenser.

That’s my plan.