[mickey3d]

Sounds like you are on the right track.I think my procedure would be as follows:
First replace the condenser where it's bad or not.If it's not bad now it probably will
be soon.They are relatively cheap and can leave you stranded.Don't buy a cheap
Chinese made cond. Some of us who do flatheads also have been finding some
cheap new ones that fail in 2 weeks!
There's no excuse for not replacing the points while your at it unless you know they are good. I had an early Olds quit once and it turned out to be that the wire coming
into the distributor points from the coil had loosened slightly and was touching the
dist. bottomplate,thereby grounding the points...no spark!
If all that stuff seems in order,try to confirm that power is actually reaching the
coil by checking the wire that feeds the coil from the ignition switch(not the wire
that goes from the dist. to the coil).You can check with a test meter if you have one,
or a simple tester can be made from an old taillight bulb and socket to see if you
have power to the coil when the key is on.
If you have power to the coil you can check it's functioning crudely by removing
the fat wire that goes from the coil to the center of the distributor cap at the
dist. end.Use something to clip the dist. end of that wire close to (1/8") some
metal part of the engine.You can then take a small jumper wire and intermitantly
touch it to the wire connection of the small wire that runs from the coil to the
distributor.Touch the wire quickly and remove.This does the same thing that the
points do normally,and should produce a good blue spark from the fat coil wire
to the metal part that it is clamped 1/8" from.
No spark doing this probably means a bad coil.Most origional coils as old as yours
are likely about to die anyway.
WARNING DISCLAIMER .... DO NOT TEST AS DESCRIBED ABOVE IF GAS LEAKS ARE PRESENT!!! THE SPARKS CAN EASILY IGNITE FUMES FROM GAS LEAKS.
One other thing you could check is the "ballast" resistor.It is usually a white ceramic
device about 2"x1/2"x1/2" with wires connected to the dist/coil.When it goes bad,the
engine will usually start until you release the key from the starting position.You can
put a temporary jumper wire on the power input side of the coil(not dist.side) and
the + side of the battery.Try starting with the key.Be aware that if this allows it to
start and run,you will have to disconnect this wire to turn the engine off.
Don't leave this jumper wire in place very long with the engine not running or it
will burn up the points(the ballast resistor usually protects the points).
I think the Pertronix rig and a new "hot" coil is a very good way to go.
Good Luck!
MickeyD