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While starting, there’re was a bright flash on the regulator, the cover was off, I turned the engine off.
The ammeter has pegged out on charge. The right coil points have frozen shut. I turned off ignition and next morning my battery drained completely to 0.
One question is what happened?

I read that Napa has a replacement VR. Does anyone have the correct Echlin model number?
Just another roadblock on my journey to get this car on the road.

I don't know which contact is on the right as that can change with model of regulator and how it is mounted but it sort of sounds like it was the cut out contact and it welded shut.

Normally that contact is open disconnecting the generator from the system until the generator is turning fast enough to generate a small voltage. At that point contact will close and power up the entire regulator so generator output goes to full and can then go to the battery and the rest of the system. If the cut out contact did weld closed then when generator was stopped battery power was still continually being fed back into the generator. Had the belt been off the generator pulley so it could turn generator would probably have been turned into a motor.

That would be the most likely reason for the complete discharge because the other two contacts in the regulator are not in play unless the generator has an output. They are normally closed anyway and just sit until they have something to regulate. With the continual current drain I would also be wondering about the status of the generator as it undoubtedly would have gotten hot.

Pretty much all new regulators will be manufactured by Standard Motor Products, regardless of where you buy them or whose name is on the box, and needless to say they are not as good as the original regulators and require some adjustment when you get them. I try to run the older regulators as long as I can. They require maintenance, but otherwise last almost forever. You can probably un-stick, file, and adjust the contacts on your old regulator.

...or buy a new regulator and adjust it. The new regulators work fine if you adjust them before you use them. They do not come out of the box ready to go.

If an ammeter is pegged with the key off or at idle (with no lights or accessories
on) there is a huge fire risk because something is short circuiting. You don't want to leave the battery connected overnight.

As well, given it pegs positive, is the battery hooked up correctly as positive ground?

If you hook the battery up backwards the flash may happen because the regulator needs to be polarized.

I agree with Howard. Sounds like your cutout relay is shorting.

Check that the tension spring on it is intact. If it is, I don't know what would cause your issue.

For starters, sounds like your battery may be hooked up backwards.

If your car is AutoLite equipped, the NAPA/Echlin aftermarket replacement regulator was VR-23. That's an old listing and the # may have been superceded by now.