Pulling Diver's Helmet

[countrysquire]

I'm working on getting my new to me '40 Deluxe Tudor running and need a little help. The car had a frame-off restoration back in the '80s, but I don't think it's been started in this century. I'm working through the normal steps to get a dormant car running, and now that I'm close to firing it, I see that there's no spark. There's power at the coil terminal but no spark at the end of the plug wires. I'm assuming that I have corrosion on the points and rotor, but I'm not exactly sure the right way to access them! This is my first flathead with the diver's helmet distributor, and before I screw something up I thought it would be best to ask a couple questions.

1. Am I correct in thinking that it's necessary to pull the distributor to dress the points and rotor?

2. Is removing the distributor a matter of removing the plug and coil wires and then simply unbolting it from the front of the block?

Thanks,
Bobby