I agree that keeping machines in original condition makes it easier to fix them years later after you've forgotten the history, BB. The condensers tend to be mostly (not all) about the same capacitance, and they all have the same voltage rating. Where they differ is in mechanical details that allow them to be mounted neatly and reliably.
(I can remember having an uncomfortable trip home from the bush after a late night rabbit-spotlighting trip once, in an old Austin A30. Joe Lucas' ignition condenser had broken its mounting tab and rattled around in his crummy distributor, so the engine only fired when the metal can around the condenser happened to be momentarily in contact with the distributor housing. I also had a Cortina that would idle but cut out as soon as you touched the throttle. The grounding wire from the distributor's points mounting plate to the distributor housing had broken: it moved when the intake manifold vacuum changed, due to the vacuum advance mechanism, and the broken wire only made contact when it had maximum vacuum advance. Gee we had fun in the days of Lucas stuff. Getting from A to B and back was always an adventure, even on the good days when the headlights didn't go out or the distributor get wet. Lucas should have been running a fun park instead of an automotive electrical business - that's where his talent was.)
Getting back to the point, however, if you have any "known good" ignition condenser that can be temporarily mounted and connected, you can see whether your Villiers then suddenly has spark. If it does, you can begin the lengthier process of getting one that fits properly.
