As I noted the other day, on our son's final day of college, his fine '83 wagon (the "Space Wagon") decided to also take a break. From 120 miles away, I diagnosed the problem as a dead alternator.

Thanks to advice from the Brickboard, I snatched the alternator from my '90 wagon (our spare car) and headed south with Mrs. Monty for graduation. Stopped at the son's post-grad abode in Birmingham, Alabama, and swapped alternators in about an hour. The alt from the '90 fit with no problem.

On to graduation, about 30 miles further south. Dropped the battery off at the auto parts store for a charge. After graduation and dinner, picked up the dinner, drove back to Bham, and bingo! Up and running, no problem. I'm hero for the day!

Still got a problem with occasionally flickering instrument panel warning lights, which I'll tackle over Xmas holiday. I'm suspecting a really nasty looking 8-pin harness. We'll see....