A novice"Could" replace those parts, but a novice can also f-up those parts while doing it. Really, unless there is something wrong, leave them alone. And when the vehicle does start to give trouble starting, just replace the points and condenser unless something else stands out as problematic. Caps are fairly expensive, and some of the surplus ones (tagged with mil-quip as the supplier on the boxes) don't even fit right, requiring the holes to be bored oversize to work properly.
Changing the points and properly setting them will not likely require a timing adjustment. But if you do want to set your timing, remove the number one wire at the spark plug, and install about a 5" piece of regular 7mm wire to the end. Put the flush end back into the spark plug, and you can test the timing with an inductive timing light and hooking the light to one battery only.
Hard to say where the fuel could be leaking down from. One item I commonly see on the jeeps is that the 3 large screws which secure the base to the carb (they point upwards) are commonly found loose.
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