Jerry and I disagree on the safety wire aspect. The original solid pins were essentially peened over on both sides so there was absolutely no chance the pin could work itself out. It could get loose, but near impossible to actually work itself out unless a failure in the pin itself. The roll pin on the other hand does not enjoy the positive retention that the peening over process provided for the solid pins. It is possible for that pin to work itself out over time if certain circumstances exist, like a very slightly wallowed out shaft hole due to a loose gear working the hole a bit, or a pin with a tolerance less then ideal for the shaft hole, or any number of other ways. These are of course extreme, rare and unlikely, but they are possibilities just the same.
Jim "Bubba" Linder of Bubba's Ignition, who did my rebuilding until he retired, and who posted over at the HAMB for many years as "GMC Bubba", was a tremendous technician and knew what he was doing with these old distributors. He safety wired all of my rebuilds and when I told him I was going to buy a Sun Machine and all the parts, supplies and literature to rebuild my own upon his retirement, he walked me through his rebuild process, and recommended that I safety wire all my pins as a good belt and suspender practice. I have run some of my 235 and 261 motors up as high as 6000 rpm at the track with no issues. Why take the chance on a catastrophic failure, no matter how remote. The correct pliers for correctly installing the safety wire are under $20 at Amazon and even comes with a little bit of stainless wire, or $10 at harbor freight for the 6 inch versions, $15 for the 9 inch version.
https://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-safety-wire-twisting-pliers-57397.html
