classic 900 spark/distributor issue

i was helping my buddy replace his distributor and noticed the distributor plug (3-wire) was worn out so bad the wires were showing (and possibly touching). the car ran before we replaced it, but now there is no spark. i am thinking that when we tried to crank it after the installation, that it shorted out from one of the distrib. wires being grounded. we re-soldered the three wires and taped them so they def. weren't able to short, but it still wouldn't start. if those wires did short out somehow, what fuse would be affected?

What is the year ?