Pull the cap and crank the engine while watching the rotor to see if it turns. Can you turn the rotor by hand? Look at the underside of the distributor cap to look for wear.
"It refuses to start when its hot only. " So it will start when cold? If so, spray some carburetor cleaner around the vacuum lines, fittings and wear the intake manifold mates to the cylinder head with the engine running. Listen for the engine reving or smoothing while you spray. Or, do you mean when the weather is warm?
A rusty distributor definitely isn't helping anything. Try testing the fuel pressure. Make sure it's around 30 PSI. If the engine starts when cold but not when hot, it could be vapor lock caused by insufficient fuel pressure.
Friday, July 1st, 2011 AT 3:32 PM