MP Pick Up and Reluctor Gap

[65Fury440]

So out of the blue, the 65 just stalled, dead, kaput.
I checked the ballast resistor, voltage showing on both sides (12v and 10v).
I checked for voltage at the positive of the coil, 10v there.
Next check was popping off the distributor cap, rotor was in one piece, tab was sticking up.
The pickup gap looked too wide to me, grabbed brass feeler gauge, the gap was at almost .018.
I grabbed the advance plate, there is all kinds of play. I can make it change about .008 in gap with just finger pressure. The adjusting screw is tight, there isn't any play in the shaft,so I closed the gap to .008 and had my helper turn the engine over,the reluctor hit the pickup, because the teeth are uneven. In order to get the longest tooth not to hit, the shortest tooth gap is .015.
Does anyone have an idea how to even up the teeth?
How about getting the plate tighter? It looked like just rivets, maybe hit the rivets with a pin punch?
It's amazing the car ran at all. I thought the big cam was the reason for the idle misfires, it can't hurt to address these items.

Edit- after setting the gap to the above, fired right up.

 

[BIGBARNEYCARS]

New reluctor, new plate, or new distributor if you can't find the individual pieces. That gap will be preset on a new distributor. Personally I'd pop for the whole thing. You haven't mentioned how sloppy the shaft is but if the other problems exist that could well be what created the uneven reluctor teeth and advance plate. My .02 Jer

 

[65Fury440]

New reluctor, new plate, or new distributor if you can't find the individual pieces. That gap will be preset on a new distributor. Personally I'd pop for the whole thing. You haven't mentioned how sloppy the shaft is but if the other problems exist that could well be what created the uneven reluctor teeth and advance plate. My .02 Jer

The shaft is tight. The teeth aren't sequentially misspaced, like the hole in the reluctor is off center, just the individual teeth. If the reluctor wheel could be chucked up in something to mimic a lathe and ground even, that would be what it needs. There are no lathes within my reach.
Thanks for the reply Barney-Doug

 

[Big_John]

New reluctor if everything else is good. If you start screwing with it you may demagnetize it and then you'll pull your hair out trying to figure out what's wrong.

 

[68Nwprt]

I work in a machine shop. Need lathe work done, let me know. I could spin it up for you.

 

[moper]

The shaft might be bent. If it was me I'd just replace the distributor given the reasonable cost for a replacement. The gap should be .010", and in every case that is just enough to keep the parts from touching at some point due to tolerance stacking. If it touches at .015 I'd say something's worn and it's moving too much.

 

[rumpfox]

i'd bet the shafts bent. the end of the shaft that goes in the relucter part that the very little snap ring holds together is only a1/4 of an inch. you blow on it it's bent. they get bent pulling a very stubborn rotory button off