So, circling back to this.
I installed a new evap, condenser, drier, orifice tube, compressor, low pressure switch, a new AC v belt, and all new o-rings over the long weekend. I did end up buying the R134A adapter set for high and low side.
I ended up reusing my 3 original hoses because they were in good shape, but I made sure to flush them good with solvent.
It really wasn't too bad of a job.
Then I vacuumed it down and everything seemed to hold well. So I charged it up. The sticker for R12 said a capacity of 2 lbs 12 oz (48 oz total). Mistake one I made when converting it to R134A was not realizing it should take less of a charge. Mistake two I made was not getting the condenser hose from the compressor fully seated behind the spring clip. So I over charged it, gave it a little throttle and it blew the hose off...... Luckily no one was hurt and nothing got damaged. I did loose my new refrigerant.
So after I changed my shorts, I tried again after I was 100% sure all spring clips were seated correctly. I didn't get the cooling and cycling of the compressor I thought I should.
So I stopped before I tore something up (hard lesson to learn). Called my friend with the AC machine (he repairs and sells auto shop equipment as a business with his dad) and asked if he had time this weekend to look at it.
His office/shop is about 7 mins from my house, so I drove over yesterday afternoon and we hooked it up and sucked it back down. Then put it on vaccum for a bit.
I told him I thought my new condenser coil that was stacked plate design probably had less capacity for freon then my older tube and fin style, so he recommended starting with a smaller charge. We tried 2 lbs and still didn't get the pressures and cycling of compressor that we thought would be ok. Sucked it down again and charge it with 1.5 lbs. Then we started getting compressor cycling and pressure that made sense. We decided to leave it like it is for now and recheck it again when the temps get warmer down here in the south.
It was cooling great when I drove it around some yesterday.
So final thoughts, if you change to a newer style condenser, it likely won't have the same capacity as before. Also, R134A should be 80-90% weight charge of R12. And finally, have a friend with an AC machine, it definitely makes trouble shooting and recovering and charging a system, much, much easier.
I also attached a picture of the old condenser vs the new one.