230/8,

You do not say where you are located. kip is in South Texas.

To begin with 134, in a climate that demands the most your a/c can deliver (I'm sure that anyone who has been there would agree that South Texas demands EVERYTHING your a/c can deliver) will NOT keep you cool without adding a much larger, higher capacity condensor. The cost of the condensor in and of itself would cost much more than a few pounds of R12.

Secondly, your car has a two cylinder York or Tecumseh compressors. I can tell you from personal experience that they will NOT hold up under the added pressure of 134 in your climate.

Third, using an alternative such as Freeze 12, Duracool or any number of other snake oil refrigerants is fraught with its own problems.

Snake oil refrigerants fall in one of two categories, flammable or blends. The flammable are illegal in 18 states including Texas for obvious reasons. Blends are not really a problem until you have a leak. In the case of a leak the components leak at different rates, requiring total system recharge to get the blend back in its proper proportions.

R12 is going down in cost now because the cars that require it are hitting the junk yards in record numbers. With decreasing demand cost decreases.

Good luck,