Hey John - as far as I know a "clutch type" starter is what's known as a solenoid-shifted starter; ie. the GM style you mention.
As the name suggests the solenoid shift starters use a solenoid to drive the starter pinion into engagement with the flywheel ring gear rather than depending on a fast-spinning bendix screw and inertia to drive it into engagement. Once the pinion is fully engaged the solenoid closes the power circuit to the starter winding and the starter begins to spin.
The advantage is the pinion is not turning when it engages the ring gear. This reduces wear (teeth chipping) on both gears. It also holds the pinion in engagement - and the engine cranking - should the engine hit once but not immediately start. (With a bendix drive a single cylinder hitting can drive the pinion out of engagement and the starter to spin free. The operator must release the starter switch then wait until the starter coasts to a stop before beginning another crank sequence).
Clutch style starters also always incorporate an overrunning clutch. This is so the starter armature cannot not be overspun if the operator is slow to release the starter switch once the engine starts.
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As for reducing the shock on the bendix caused by a 6 to 12 volt conversion, rather than swapping in an undersized (smaller CCA) battery I prefer to keep full-size battery and use undersized ungrounded battery cable instead. This limits the inrush current and softens bendix engagement forces yet still provides a good, fast spin. Also retaining he bigger CCA battery helps cold weather starting – an issue for us poor souls in rural western NY where winter seems to last about 7 or 8 months(!) It also provides longer reserve capacity for powering lights with the engine stopped, to get the tractor back to the shed with after busted alternator belt, etc.
For a Super M I’ve found a #2 battery cable is right – it noticeably lessens the “bang” when the bendix engages, but does not significantly slow the starter nor cause the cable to heat up much. A smaller, easier cranking tractor (H, A/B/C, etc) could probably get by with a #4 battery cable.
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