Hi,

I notice a box next to my radiator on the driver side and realized that must be my voltage regulator. Can somebody tell me what that does exactly?

 

ya, that would be it. conector going to it with 4 posts "I-A-S-F".
it keeps voltage at a certain level. if you hadn't got that (or it wouldn't be functioning probably) and you'd rev the engine you would be charging the battery with 16V, which is a very bad idea ....
if you measure voltage above battery during idle it will usually below 14V. when you start revving you can watch it climb, but at a certain voltage. most likely 14V it will stop increasing

 

had a sticky volt reg before.
was nice...all the lights were bright...problem is i lost some light bulbs...so i had to fix reg.
over charging batt can be an explosive proposition,

 

fried my regulator once and it was overcharging my battery. After driving it you could smell like sulfur and I was also told it bubbled.

 

Kalli pretty much said it.

It's kinda like if you didn't have a transformer box outside your house. All that power from a power line going straight into your house? It's like turning your house into a toaster.

 

If I convert my alternator to a 1 wire internally regulated, can the original regulator be removed?

 

I ran a 1 wire setup for a while and just left it in place

 

I mean ya. You probably could delete it but I have no good idea on where to cut and still leave it reversible

 

Just bought my Mustang last spring and not sure how old it is. Should I just replace it to be safe and I am guessing it's pretty easy to replace.

 

Its a good idea to replace an old one since its mechanical inside.I bought one,painted the cap same color as engine and put a sticker on it like the original.looks and works great,no worries.Think I paid 15 bucks for it at the time.