Quote Originally Posted by Greg Wilson View Post
I know this response is quite late but here is my thought, with out seeing it. You likely have the lever for a hand "parking brake". The model 7 did not have the McDowell starter as an option they were in the mod.11 Chief. The McDowell starters that I have seen were operated with a lever anchored to the floor at the left side. I have the parking brake on my champ and most Aeronca owners, current and former, don't know what it is so I think they were not common. My system was installed in about 1950 after a "hand propping accident" according to the records. The McDowell starter worked as a recoil starter like a lawnmower engine. A ratchet was placed behind the prop with the cable running to the lever. The lever simply gave mechanical advantage rather than pulling the cable directly, like with a small engine.

Gregs reply is essentially correct. The CRANK ( that is really the Aeronca part name) for the McDowell starter is floor mounted into weldments made to the original fuselage. It is positioned to the Pilots' left knee side and has a "REST" which is the return position after the ratchet gear is used to move the prop through one compression cycle. My Chief also has an under panel " Hand Brake" which is very similar to an emergency brake in an automobile. It works well when the Goodyear Brakes are properly adjusted. It is located under the panel center position.

I have now installed my McDowell and it works fine.All of the necessary drawings are available from many sources. However, the most important ones about the internal parts of the starter mechanism itself were all McDowell Co. Drawings and are mostly not generally available. I am still interested in any McDowell starter components drawings if anyone has them out there.

Dale