Wondering just what you felt turn? Did just the rotor turn, as in the tab inside the rotor is broken? If so, just the rotor needs to be replaced.
Did the entire distributor shaft turn? As in you can rotate the shaft and it doesn't spring back when released? If you can rotate the shaft by hand, something is striped or sheared in the distributor. It will need to come out and be repaired or replaced. Likely the drive pin in the gear has sheared or fallen out. If it sheared, why did it shear? Something would have to have locked the distributor, like a dropped screw, something come loose in the weights, seized bushing, etc.
Possibly what you felt move was the centrifugal advance mechanism. But it should only move a few degrees and spring back. That is normal. If it moved a few degrees and had to be turned back, the weights are sticking, and the shaft is dry. It probably will need to come out and be disassembled, cleaned and lubricated.
Q 2: The dust cover lifts off.
Q 3:
To check the play in the bushings, just push side to side on the shaft. Watch the points for movement. There will be "some" movement, but it should be very minimal. Excessive wear will make setting the points impossible. That is one advantage of electronic conversion, they are much more forgiving of worn bushings.
Don't be afraid of it, nothing mysterious about it, can't short out anything. If the shaft is turning by hand it's already out of time. Getting it back in time is easy. Give us some more details about what you find.
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Today's Featured Article - A Lifetime of Farm Machinery - by Joe Michaels. I am a mechanical engineer by profession, specializing in powerplant work. I worked as a machinist and engine erector, with time spent overseas. I have always had a love for machinery, and an appreciation for farming and farm machinery. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Not a place one would associate with farms or farm machinery. I credit my parents for instilling a lot of good values, a respect for learning, a knowledge of various skills and a little knowledge of farming in me, amo
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