G'day Jack.
Yes a lot of manufacturers used the friction drive ,I've had a few
of them along the way,Victa,Masport slasher,Rover,Mobilco and I had
a ride on mower a long time ago with a variable speed friction plate
acting through a differential ,I think it was an Ariens.
No that Pace with the catcher is not mine ,if I say I was just reading
an old thread on ODK ,I mean I just read it again,I usually check them out
over and over again,I was looking at
this link click hereagain and thought it was a good example for the adjusting handle.
I have not seen many of those pace catchers so yes they must be super rare.
Cheers Max.