Distributors Auto/Manual different?

[Charlie Guthrie]

We just had a Japan spec imported engine installed. The Japanese spec intake
manifold was replaced with the US spec, but the distributor was left "as
imported". The SR-20 DE engine was, however, from an automatic transmission
car. My questions are: are the manual and automatic distributors the same;
and are the Japanese and US distributors the same. The mechanic seems to
have "misplaced" the original distributor.
On a positive note the newer engine runs much stronger than our tired
original. The imported engine reportedly has a higher compression ratio.
Charlie & Peter Guthrie
Raleigh, NC