Well, I made it to Pick'n'Pull - at about 4:05pm this time.

I've never actually been to one before, so it was probably worth it just for the experience of wandering around a giant automobile graveyard.

After maybe 20 minutes of trudging, I found a similar model car. I don't even remember what it was - I think a Mercury. It had the same parking brake console and assembly, so it doesn't matter. Another maybe 15 minutes of disassembly, and I was done - I even took the console, since mine has been kinda messed up by my equipment rack.

So, a mere $37 poorer, I walked out of there with my prizes. When I got to the car, I noticed that (1) my brake handle veers to the left and (2) the one I just bought is straight. The thought that "perhaps I've been bending the brake handle over putting the rack in the car" finally filtered into my brain, and I tried bending the one I've got back over a bit.

It now works perfectly well.

Sigh.