Possibly. The tolerance of a factory distributor is up to 4 crank degrees. So one distributor might be different from another IDENTICAL spec distributor by four degrees. That is a noticeble difference, though it will run "good" either way.




Of course if you have timed them by ear and by full-advance checking they will run pretty much the same. But if you simply put it on the timing mark, it will run OK but may not be optimum.

The only spec'd difference between manual and auto (North American spec) is 200 RPM difference to full advance. Not enough to notice. The tolerance is liable to be a bigger issue.