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Most likely a decompression lever.
Does it look like the one in this picture?
It is used to reduce compression while spinning the engine with the starter. I use mine mostly in the winter. Pull the lever and hit the starter. After the engine is rotating at speed, drop the lever so that the engine will fire up.
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It turns clockwise about 90 degrees. When you let go it goes back down.
The fuel won’t ignite without compression so you don’t want to spin the engine more than 3 or 4 revolutions or you can flood it out. To prevent this, hold the fuel cut off in the Stop Engine position while spinning the engine.
The starter will reach maximum speed in just one or two revolutions when there is no compression. This is a great help if you have a weak battery or starter (or it is really cold outside).
With a good battery and starter using this technique will start my 284 down to about 0°F with glow plugs alone. Below that and you have to put some heat into the engine first. I have a 1000 watt tank heater that will get it up to easy starting temp in about 30 minutes unless it is -20, then I let it heat for about an hour.
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