The 64 T-Bird was equipped with an automatic parking brake release. Put the car in gear and the parking brake klunks free. The mechanism is a vacuum switch on the steering column. A lever on the shift tube moves the switch, activating a vacuum motor, releasing the brake.
On my car, of course, this was all disconnected. I put a new vacuum switch on when working on the shifter. Getting a new hose up from the switch to the vacuum motor was not easy. Once it was there, I was a little shocked–happily so–that the whole system still worked.
With that done, I put the lock cylinder back in the passenger side door. I had the great folks at Mountain View Lock and Safe rework the cylinder to fit the existing ignition key. Installation of the lock cylinder is simple. Once in, I was able to lock and unlock the car from both the key and the knob–probably the first time in 20+ years that this door has been locked.
The vacuum system that operates the lock is still not functioning, but the issue is not in the door, so the panel will go back on this weekend. More photos from that evolution to follow.