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The car did 750 miles this weekend in the C2C without issue and the current going in has slightly lowered to 2 or 3 amps. I'm happy with how it is so thanks for all the comments and advice and for anyone else considering an alternator conversion it really is very easy. This video from Moss tells you everything you need to know:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NsAYiUHsho

The wiring is correct and as you describe. The other side is connected to the output from the alternator and everything else that needs power apart from the starter motor.   If the starter motor was running the whole time it would get very hot very quickly. They actually don't turn the engine over very fast compared to normal running speeds.   10 amps at 12 volts implies 120 Watts going into the battery.   I'm not overly worried as nothing is getting hot or not working but I would like to know what is going on.

With the dynamo, no lights, heater fan or load other than running the engine the ammeter would settle near zero once the drain of starting had been put back into the battery. With the alternator there is a constant 8 to 10 amps going into the battery (charging). The ammeter is connected directly to the battery so current must be following into the battery. The only other connection on the battery side is the solonoid for the starter motor. The starter motor works fine. Across the battery terminals there is 14 volts with the engine running and about 12.5 volts without the engine running.  

I need to check there isn't any load on the battery side of the ammeter however, I suspect I won't be able to find 10 amps worth. The ammeter is an inline device, a higher charging voltage may deliver a higher current but not continuously. It should level off and return to zero when the battery is back to full charge.

Slightly surprised they are claiming the ammeter resistance is an issue because it should be next to nothing.

I have just replaced the dynamo on Tr4a with an alternator. The only concern I have is the ammeter now reads a fairly constant 8 to 9 amps into the battery. With the dynamo it would be all over the place depending on load but cruising along would be near zero. It has been tested on a run of about an hour, nothing hot to the touch or other obvious problems. Should I be concerned? The battery is in good condition. Where are all the amps going?

Its all back together now and working apart from the main beam warning light is on with dipped beam and visa versa. Shouldn't take long to work out. Plenty of spare wire and electrical connections for RBRR!

Well I eventually found this page on another forum: https://www.triumphexp.com/phorum/read.php?8,891424 which has a nice pic of where the vent hole is. Managed to get a paperclip in and bend it over to see how deeply it went in: 30mm (just over an inch in old money). Seems like a reasonable distance to me. I don't think a blocked vent is the problem. And it's point B on the pic of the gearbox above. Any other ideas?

I think it is a three rail box. I found a pic of one and have labelled the only two bits that look like they may be breather holes. Any ideas?

It's a Mk2/3 with OD if that makes a difference.

Do you have any pictures where the breather hole might be? Happy to drill a small hole, that could be plugged with a grommet, through the tunnel for access.

Removed the two melted wires and checked all the connections, some were loose but not sure whether that was due to me grabbing wires when turning off the ignition wasn't working. Will test tomorrow in light with help from someone standing by over the battery connection.

I'll check for the obvious shorts. It just seemed a strong coincidence that it happened at the same time as the speedo replaced. The speedo was sitting in its hole in the dashboard and the dashboard screws were all removed so the dashboard was loose but more of less in place.

To set the scene: Spitfire Mk2 with alternator. Have just replaced a seized speedo. The newly sourced one is from a more recent model as it has the clip off connector for the speedo cable rather than the screw on type. Everything else is visually the same including the main beam warning light, oil pressure warning light and ignition light. I used the voltage regulator from the old instrument. I connected everything up (apart from the earth for the ign and main beam lamps which were loosely in position) and decided to test before putting back in dashboard and refitting. Turned on the ignition key and the red and green lights illuminated. Now to check the main beam: turned on the dash mounted light switch and flicked to full beam. Within seconds there was a cloud of smoke from under the dash on the left so switched everything off immediately. Because I switched on both at the same time I couldn't tell whether turning on the lights or the main beam caused the problem. Two wires have burnt themselves out and melted their insulation in the loom. One is a fairly thin black earth wire that runs from the back of the fuel gauge through the bulkhead to earth at the coil mounting. This is in a bad state and actually melted itself in one place. The other is a thick brown wire that runs from the back of the dashboard lighting switch to the B connector on the control box in the engine bay. Its pretty difficult to say whether the lighting wire melted its insulation and the fuel gauge earth wire or something else which is why I am asking for advice. I don't want to connect it all back together and have the same problem again. Before the speedo was replaced everything was working fine. I did notice that the black earth wire where it connects to the back of the fuel gauge was not as tight as it could be. The main beam indicator bulb did not blow and neither did any of the fuses. Could this possibly have been caused by not earthing the speedo properly before testing or should I be looking somewhere else. Back later to check on responses. Going out to buy wire!

The car had stood overnight before the plug was removed so the oil and gearbox were cold.

Hi Roger, no 20/50 in gearbox, using a hypoid oil EP80/90. Will be putting a lot of fresh oil back in as quite a bit came out when I removed the drive for the angle drive for the speedo. The speedo seized solid yesterday damaging the angle drive. When the gearbox was last topped off I leave the plug out for a few minutes to let any extra drain out (and so it doesn't run down my arm as I squeeze it between the exhaust and chassis to reinsert the plug). The only way the volume of oil can grow is if some of air is mixed in it and retained. I guess this oil will rise to the top and the oil lower down in the gearbox will be more air free.   I am a bit concerned as have never seen this before.   Kevin

After a nice run to and from the RBRR drivers' meeting decided to check oil levels in diff and gearbox today. On undoing the gearbox fill plug oil started coming out quite quickly and it looks full of fine bubbles, see photo. Any ideas what is going on? Car was on the level. It has an overdrive that goes in and out nicely.

Thanks for all the advice. Cracked the bleed nipple on the slave cylinder and a good amount of liquid came out, probably not a teaspoon but much more than a drip. Took the slave cylinder out of its housing and tried to push the plunger in. Not sure whether it moved or not. Put it all back together and it worked fine. Test driven. Very relieved the engine does not have to come out again. Service kit for master and slave has been purchased and will be fitted very soon.

Thanks Rob, will have a go later and report back.

Could this be a hydraulic issue with the clutch pedal being harder than before and only biting at the very top? Maybe grabbing at straws here to avoid engine removal.

Painted on metal part of clutch plate. See pic.

The background: Have just had the engine reconditioned so replaced the clutch plate at the same time. The new clutch plate was only minimally thicker than the old one but since the engine was out..... Torqued the clutch up as per the manual. The clutch plate had writing on it to say which side faced the flywheel. Got it all together and started the engine but the starter motor was permanently engaged so removed the starter motor and bump started without much difficulty. The next time it came to start it however it would not bump start, with the clutch pedal out (not depressed) the clutch was slipping - wheels going round but not turning the engine. We thought new engine so maybe it was very stiff. Made spacers for the starter motor and started the car. When driving the clutch is slipping badly - almost couldn't get back up slope of driveway. Does anyone have any ideas? The only other comment I would make is the clutch pedal seemed stiffer than previous and when driving the biting point was at the very top of the clutch travel. No problems changing gear.  (The closer we get to RBRR the more the problems seem to appear!!)

Took the breather pipe of the PV Valve to check oil wasn't being sucked through and went for a long drive down the Fosse Way. About 750cc oil used but also noticed drops of oil under front of engine which were not there previously. By the time we got home (180 miles) oil was pissing out the front. Difficult to tell exactly where but it looked like it was coming out between the block and the sump. Despite all the oil being added the oil coming out and on the dipstick was black. It looked like it was years old. To me this says the oil is being burnt and blown into the crank case. The speed the oil is leaking from the front also indicates significant crank case pressure. In addition oil is dropping out of the hole in the rocker cover cap. The engine is coming out tomorrow.

Compression numbers are: 158 154 154 152 Engine was hot.

Thanks for the advice. If its more than just rings then that is what it is. No compression test results yet because the prop is off to service the UJs so the exhaust is off too. Hopefully all back together over w/e. Kevin