The last time I did major repairs, I did check that. Your right, it's a common problem.
I have not had the flywheel off, so I don't even know the condition of the points/condenser.
I also have to put a new throttle adjust on because the lever snapped. The newer one is an extremely short lenght (2") of throttle cable that has a 3/4" loop for your finger. The old one is just a lever. I rebuilt the carb a couple of years back. Constant leaking. I fabricated a new bracket for gas tank at that time too. The biggest issue was a finding a Hypro key for the drive. I also had to find an oilite bearing. The bearing caused the key to break.
Basically, the blower seems to be a very relaible design and it was a freebe, but it's 35+ years old. It's missing solid state ignition, compression release and electric start. Once I get it running, it runs like a champ. The tread on the tires is almost totally worn, but the tires have snow chains. Tecumseh is out of business, but some parts are still being made.