[dan]

Here in KS there's a "VIN inspection" for cars purchased out of state (it's make-work for retired State Troopers) and when they do it they also check basic safety stuff like brake lights, headlights, etc. I can't park the car without the parking brake working, as the county courthouse has a sloped parking area.

Anyway, I bought a new ratchet (the one I got is exactly like the original I removed, though I'm not sure how hard the steel is--time will tell). The profile and thickness are correct, which was good.

The parking brake handle that came with the car was pretty corroded and some of the parts were very worn. I assume all the suppliers get their handles from the same place, and I have to say that the pawl on the bottom of the one I got was... well, to call it crap would be an insult to crap. It's made out of three pieces of steel riveted together, but not the correct shape at all and when it were was the pieces weren't lined up, so... crap. It wouldn't hold at all.

I ended up using the original pawl on the new handle and it's working. To fit it was a bit of effort, because the post on the new handle was a good bit larger that the hole in the original pawl. But some time with a file and everything's good now.