I believe the insulator in the side of the distributor is a 2-piece affair. The inside part sometimes breaks or gets lost, and if the spring on the points touches the distributor housing, the voltage grounds there and it's like the points are closed all the time- - - -no spark. I think one of the parts vendors who advertise here have repop parts for that insulator. I make my own insulator bushings on the lathe out of Teflon.
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!