Thanks very much for the diagram, that helped.

Got the Alternator out- it does indeed help when you know which bolts!

Here is what I found when I removed the Voltage Regulator:

(Sorry for the potato quality pictures, my dslr motherboard just died)






So this is my first voltage regulator I've inspected but I'm fairly certain that one is bad...

So I'm going to *assume* the alternator is actually fine. That the VR brushes are toast and a replacement VR would likely solve the issues.

However, I'm slightly torn... for $50ish I can get a new VR for this old tired ALT or for about $120 it seems like I could get a much higher amp alternator w/ a VR (that will maybe work). This is a budget build/repair at the moment as I have other projects.

Those with experience with these cars, may I ask what you would recommend? Are the extra amps worth it?