I hope that somebody has been through the same dilemma that I am now facing...Here's the breakdown:

About 6 or 7 years ago I took my 1985 240 in to get the air conditioner converted over to R134a. I was in college at the time and took it to a "general" mechanic who worked on all different types of vehicles. After the conversion the AC seemed to be working ok most of the time but seemed to work best when going down the freeway at higher speeds. Years later, at stop lights or in slow traffic, it seemed I was better off rolling down the windows.

So years passed and the thing eventually stopped working all together. Well, I graduated school and decided that I could afford to have the thing fixed. I took it into a reputible A/C exclusive shop that told me the following: the condensers in the original R12 systems were not designed for R134 refrigerant. He said that the R12 condenser (tube and fin) was not nearly as efficient as the R134 (parallel flow)condensers and that the result was a higher pressure ocurring in the system that caused my compressor to blow out. I am loking at somewhere around $1000 bucks to get the thing fixed by these guys...

So I am at a loss with how to proceed. Should I replace the compressor with a new one and purchase a parallel flow condenser or can my existing setup work reliably with a new compressor only?? My concern here is that the compressor will eventually blow like the previous one did. I am mechanically inclined and can do the wrenching myself, but I am unfamiliar with AC systems and how to refill/service them.

What would I need to do this the right way and have a system that will last??

Thanks in advance!