A million years ago when I was in college I was into English sport cars and that meant I spent a lot of time under them fixing them. The cars were from the 50's and early 60's. I recall the starters were different than American cars in that they used a centrifugal system to engage the starter gear to the flywheel whereas American cars used a solenoid to push the starter gear into the flywheel cogs. Maybe that will help in the understanding of how the English thrower above described by Damascus works. Or not.
Best,
Milt
