[ImperialCrown]

If you have the felt oil wick inside the distributor spindle, a couple of drops of oil from the dipstick will lube the spindle.
Old grease or if the car has sat can make the weight pivots stick. I've never seen a broken weight return spring on these, but it can be more common on other makes. Dwell will increase (smaller point gap) as the rubbing block wears. A little smear of grease on the cam should suffice.
Make sure that the vacuum advance moves the plate & holds vacuum.

The distributor was easier to get at on the trucks & larger cars.

 

[68RT]

That's a good tip, I need to lubricate mine and change the rotor, most likely.

If you had an original Hemi, pulling the distributor was almost the only option.
1). It was in the middle back of the engine.
2). It had dual points.
3). It only went back in either correctly or 180 degrees off. The bolt to retain was a little under the body so an offset angle wrench was best.

Whoever designed/approved the design, was thinking very well.

 

[Dave Z]

Ouch.

 

[Adventurer55]

If you had an original Hemi, pulling the distributor was almost the only option.
1). It was in the middle back of the engine.
2). It had dual points.
3). It only went back in either correctly or 180 degrees off. The bolt to retain was a little under the body so an offset angle wrench was best.

Whoever designed/approved the design, was thinking very well.

That never changed. Putting a new distributor cap on a Magnum truck engine wasn't fun either.

 

[LouJC]

Well those of us with Chevrolet V8s small block or big block did the points without pulling the distributor because reinstalling it was a bit of a nuisance. Take an old seat cushion lay it across the air cleaner and lay on top of the engine. The later Delco points set ups had the points & condenser mounted on a single plate & there was the Allen adjustment that allowed you to get it close so the engine would start & then set it with the engine running with the dwell meter. Back then this was one big advantage that GM V8s had vs FoMoCo & Mopar. While Chevy, Pontiac & Olds had the distributor in the rear, Buick & Cadillac the distributor was right up front. Very easy…until we got HEI in 1975. This were good but the modules could fail with no warning but again very easy to replace.
My old boat with the 1988 Chevy 4.3-4bbl has a Prestolite points distributor with mechanical advance. Very simple easy to maintain. If I repower I might try an electronic Delco EST marine unit.
About 1974 or so the points failed on my 1965 VW Beetle 1200 and I changed the points on the side of the road on the way home from college. Always carry spares lol!