Hi Sapper,

It sounds encouraging. How was the catcher?

I recently pulled the starter off a powertorque and had trouble putting the o ring back in as it had expanded and wouldn't go on the starter snugly. I used a spare and then thought up the idea of checking the old one the next day. Sure enough, it had shrunk and went on snugly, allowing me to reinstall it.

Regards starter rope tension, I found it's a balancing act between having the spring tension strong enough so it retracts fully and not so strong the rope jams when to pull it out to the limit. Adjusting tension is child's play on these. There is a slot on the black plastic pulley that you just slip the rope into while you either wind the pulley up or down until the desired tension.
I had such a problem with the rope jamming at the limit. I just dewound the pulley one revolution and that solved it.

Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!