An article in a recent Cars & Parts said the same thing as
Joe. Apparently R-134 isn't environmentally friendly
enough. There's some new stuff in the works, R-433 or
thereabouts, that will require even more pressure and will
be less efficient.
They also said that some sort of variable valve is
recommended in a changeover from R-12 to R-134.
--Roger van Hoy, '55DeSoto, '42DeSoto, '66Plymouth,
'73Duster, '81 Imperial, Washougal, WA