62 Valiant 200 / 170 cuin /6 - Odd smell - then dead battery

If you decide to reinstall an ammeter, it can helpful in spotting problems.
Especially with no fusible link, the ammeter will give you a chance to see it indicating a short (high discharge).
It also might indicate discharge when the key is off but something is draining the battery. (might not be observable on the gage if the drain is small)
The voltmeter is also useful, but can't show things like that.
Having both is fine.