Ditto! An engine will run with just about any point gap, even a couple of thousandths, it just won't run right. I sort of eyeball the point gap, or do a quick check with a feeler gauge, enough to get the engine running, then do the final check and adjustment with the dwell meter.
Since I've still got a Sun distributor tester in working shape, all the point-type distributors I work on get set up in the tester, not on the engine. As well as the dwell, I check the point spring tension, point alignment, centrifugal and vacuum advance, and the advance curve. That's the way I learned to do it back in the 1950's, and old habits are hard to break! When every other shop in town was getting $5.00 labor for an engine tuneup, the family shop was getting $7.50 for "Tune engine and calibrate distributor". 50% more labor charge, for maybe 15 minutes more work, pulling the distributor and running it across the tester, instead of standing on their heads over the fender, installing points! Trying to charge that much more for a conventional tuneup would have made the customers scream, but giving them a premium-quality job, even at a higher price, kept them coming back. Quality outsells price every time!
Jerry
