Can a points type distributor be recurved without a distributor machine? These machines seem very scarce around my area. I'm thinking it's becoming a lost art.

 

you can do it in the car.
springs and weights

 

Yes...to some extent. If you have a tachometer and a timing light (a dial-back light makes your work a lot easier; otherwise you need a timing tape around your damper), You can pull and plug the vacuum can line, then gently rev the engine--while watching the timing mark move--until the timing mark stops moving with any further increase in rpm. Note the rpm where that occurs; that is the speed at which the max mechanical advance point is reached. If it is well above 3000 rpm, shut everything down and replace the flyweight springs with the next softer pair (from the recurve kit you bought). Now repeat the process.

When you get the max mechanical advance to occur between 2600-3000 rpm, you have adjusted the distributor to 'performance' mode. You may use springs that are not the same type to get that job done. For instance, if the next two softer springs get the max mech point down to 3200 and the two lightest springs drop it to 2400, you could leave one of the lightest springs and one of the 'middle' springs in the dizzy and probably get a max mech point around 2700 or so.

P.S. Just setting the max mechanical advance point is not really "recurving" the distributor. That complete process also includes modifying the flyweights so that the rate of mechanical advance is optimized throughout a WOT run with THAT engine. Usually this is done on a dynomometer and can be pretty time-consuming. This detailed process is done on drag engines so that every little bit of power is gleaned from the engine throughout its operating range.