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My '72's parking brake lever has a leather or leather like material on the sides not the black plastic as illustrated in the Technical Information Manual and JG. The material surrounds the chrome part of the lever where plastic is shown (see the manual) and does not have the chrome trim down the top, but does have the chrome around the black plastic release button. Every thing is the same except the leather/leather like material. What do I have? Based on the car and its history I am having a hard time believing the brake lever is not original.
As Warren mentioned, it sounds like the later PRODUCTION handle which became SERVICE for 68+. However, the grip on this handle is not really like something I would describe as leather. It's more like a very hard rubber which has a very small amount of resiliency to it.
The original handle used plastic grips with "cross hatch" pattern to improve gripping. However, the plastic used was polystyrene, the same type of plastic used to make model airplane kits. It was easily broken or chipped. I'm sure that's why GM changed the design to the "hard rubber". Then, because the part was functionally equivalent and an IMPROVED piece that could be used for earlier models, they made it SERVICE for 67+. The VAST majority of folks who buy parts for their cars want an improved piece rather than one that's "technically correct".
For those that seek such a thing, there are now correct handles available in reproduction for the 1967 and earlier C3 applications. The ones I've seen look excellent. The only problem is you have to remove the old handle from the assembly and install the reproduction. This can be tricky. GM never sold the handle by itself; they had available only the complete assembly.
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