Distributor pickups dying in '75 Hornet

[Roger Blake <rogblake@xxxxxxxxx>]

I recently had the engine (258) on a '75 Hornet stop dead while it
was warming up in the driveway. Diagnostics from the factory shop
manual pointed at the distributor pickup being bad.

Although I know these Prestolite ignition systems are marginal and
there are upgrade possibilities, due to having to work on this car
outside in cold weather I wanted the quickest, easiest fix. Advance
Auto Parts sells a rebuilt replacement distribuor from A1 Cardone for
a little over $50, so I ordered one and installed it this afternoon.
The engine fired right up and ran great for about 60 seconds -- then
it died.

Diagnostics showed the same problem: dead pickup in the distributor.
Anyone know if these ignition systems have a failure mode that can fry
this thing? (Problem in the control box or the coil?) Obviously I may
just have had the bad luck to get get a defective part, but it seems
a little suspicious that the new unit failed so quickly.

--
  Roger Blake

  rogblake@xxxxxxxxx