I wasn't really talking about the distributor shaft, the drive dog or the reduced/minor diameter of the distributor body where the bushings reside, proper support there should be a given. I was talking about the large/major diameter section of the distributor body. Those things are fragile and it doesn't take that much of a side load on the large/major diameter section of the body where the action plate resides to break the body. That's why I said that the large/major diameter should be in free space. Now that free space could be just off the working surface, whatever that happens to be, or be measured in feet off the floor, it doesn't really matter as long as it is there and precludes loads on that large/major diameter section.