In a points dizzy there's a wire goes from the points round to the terminal for the condenser, does the wire have to be insulated? The wire itself is intact. My old 009 the insulation on this wire burnt/melted off, so is it still usable ?
When i was trying to get my new engine going i tried putting this 009 back in but connected to wrong terminal on coil, hence melted ins
I don't think that qualifies as a daft distributor question. Something along the lines of "can I contact the dead using my distributor"?, that would be better.
If you did the "wrong terminal" thing, check the copper braid inside that grounds the breaker baseplate. That can burn out as well.
But only if you know how to fit it. It would be easier to have a spare electronic module if you like carrying parts around.
Worth having the distributor with a condenser and the clamp fitted up and pre-set to 7.5 degrees and left in the bus. Then you undo the nut behind the previous distributor and drop the spare one back in pre-timed and ready to go. Or buy a Pertronix or Accuspark module and a re-con Bosch SVDA and you will never have to adjust the points again. And your timing will be correct and not too advanced like a Chinese SVDA manages to achieve (why they "feel better") So your engine will live longer.