Sam, saw your post on the other site.
Since I didn't hear back from you, I figured the logistics of getting the manual lever to your friend didn't seem worth the issue, and truthfully, can't say I blame you.
One question, does your friend currently have the 23545?
The manual one is the one I bought, then just order the actuator and wiring and switch from John at JohnnyProducts.
Made the brackets myself (not pretty compared to say Willie's) out of old shelf brackets, a grinder and a drill. The price was pretty good (approx $8 for drill bit and another $10 for hardware).
As I recall, the 24545 from Sears is something sick like $350+ US.
So, is your friend all straightened out?
SnowMower