BE35 AND C182 HAD LESS THAN LEGAL SEPARATION IN ZLA CLASS E AIRSPACE.

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I DEPARTED BULLHEAD/LAUGHLIN ARPT (IFP) DESTINED FOR EL MONTE (EMT) AT XA12Z. I CLBED TO 8500 FT AND LEVELED OFF APPROX 3 MI S OF GOFFS VOR (GFS). I CONTINUED IN LEVEL FLT DIRECT TOWARD HECTOR VOR. AT APPROX XA35Z; I WAS MAINTAINING HDG 250 DEGS MAGNETIC AT PRECISELY 8500 FT AND LOOKING INTENTLY IN THE 11 O'CLOCK DIRECTION BECAUSE THE SUN WAS IN THAT DIRECTION AND I FELT THAT THE AREA NEEDED EXTRA ATTN TO AVOID OTHER ACFT. THIS WAS ESPECIALLY TRUE SINCE MY WINDSHIELD WAS SLIGHTLY DIRTY AND THE SUN ON THE DIRTY WINDSHIELD MADE VIEWING TOWARD THE SUN MORE DIFFICULT. WHEN I LOOKED BACK TO THE R; A HIGH WING SINGLE ENG ACFT WAS COMING STRAIGHT AT ME AT APPROX 90 DEGS TO MY COURSE (IE; HE WAS HDG APPROX 160 DEGS MAGNETIC). I REALIZED THAT I SHOULD YIELD TO ACFT ON THE R; BUT IT WAS TOO LATE SINCE I WAS DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF HIM. SINCE I WOULD BE THE FIRST TO REACH THE POINT WHERE OUR PATHS CROSSED; I CONTINUED STRAIGHT; BUT MOMENTARILY RAISED MY R WING IN HOPES THAT EXPOSING A GREATER SURFACE AREA WOULD MAKE HIM NOTICE ME. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO ESTIMATE SUCH DISTANCE; BUT I BELIEVE THAT WE CAME WITHIN PERHAPS 200-300 YARDS. THE OTHER ACFT PASSED BEHIND ME. WHEN HE EMERGED FROM MY BLIND SPOT; I NOTICED THAT HE WAS STILL IN LEVEL FLT; AND SO HAD APPARENTLY NOT EXECUTED AN EVASIVE MANEUVER. BEGINNING WELL BEFORE THE NEAR MISS; I HAD BEEN LISTENING TO ZLA ON 134.65 ON THE HUNCH THAT THE FREQ MIGHT COVER MY AREA OF FLT (I FOUND THE FREQ ON MY COMMERCIAL CHART). 1 OR 2 MINS AFTER THE NMAC; AN ACFT (A SKYLANE) CALLED THE CTLR AND RPTED THE NMAC; AND ASKED THE CTLR TO WATCH MORE CAREFULLY. THE CTLR RPTED THAT THERE WAS NO OTHER TFC IN THE AREA. AT THAT POINT I CALLED THE CTLR. HE TOLD ME THAT HE WAS TOO BUSY TO ACCEPT REQUESTS. I THEN TOLD HIM THAT I WAS THE OTHER ACFT IN THE NMAC; AND THAT I HAD BEEN SQUAWKING 1200 WITH MODE C. HE RPTED THAT MY XPONDER MUST BE DEFECTIVE; SINCE HE OBSERVED NO TARGET IN MY RPTED LOCATION. I TOLD HIM THAT I HAD EARLIER BEEN ON 'FLT FOLLOWING' FROM ALBUQUERQUE AND THE CTLRS HAD NOT RPTED ANY DIFFICULTY WITH MY XPONDER. HE THEN SAID THAT MY TARGET HAD JUST APPEARED WITH MY ALT SHOWING 8500 FT. CONTRIBUTING CAUSES: I FEEL THAT THE INCIDENT WAS CAUSED BY BOTH PLTS MAINTAINING AN INADEQUATE VISUAL SCAN. MY DIRTY WINDSHIELD WAS ALSO A FACTOR. IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE THAT THE OTHER PLT WAS AT AN INAPPROPRIATE ALT; IF HE WERE INDEED FLYING HDG 160 DEGS. A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR WAS THE GLARE FROM THE SUN; ALTHOUGH THE SUN WAS NOT IN THE DIRECTION OF THE APCHING ACFT. ANOTHER CONTRIBUTING CAUSE WAS THE CTLR FAILING TO WARN THE OTHER ACFT OF THE TFC; EVEN THOUGH THE SKYLANE WAS APPARENTLY ON 'FLT FOLLOWING.' I DISCOUNT THE SUGGESTION THAT MY XPONDER RETURN WAS NOT OBSERVABLE; GIVEN THAT THE CTLR RPTED NO DIFFICULTY RECEIVING THE OTHER PLANE'S XPONDER IN THE SAME LOCATION; AND THAT MY XPONDER HAD BEEN WORKING FINE ON MY PREVIOUS LEG FROM ALBUQUERQUE TO BULLHEAD; AND AGAIN AFTER THE NMAC. INACTION: LOOKING BACK AT THE INCIDENT; I BELIEVE THAT I SHOULD HAVE ABRUPTLY DIVED THE ACFT TO FURTHER INCREASE THE CHANCE OF MISSING THE OTHER ACFT. I CAN'T EXPLAIN WHY IT DID NOT OCCUR TO ME THAT A DIVE WAS IN ORDER. LESSON LEARNED: I MUST NOT INTERRUPT MY SCAN BY CONCENTRATING ON ONE AREA OF THE SKY AT THE EXPENSE OF COVERING THE REMAINDER OF THE SKY.