To bulky for a mechanical setup in my opinion. More hydraulic line to deal with, mounting the handle/device on a bracket of some kind. Limited room under the dash and in a Cobra in general. The solenoid is very small, minium tubing mondifications, takes almost no room and all you need is a switch on or under the dash. Cheap, easy, quick! Plus, I want one for "burn out's" to heat up my drag slicks by locking the front wheels only. I looked at a couple of trick Line Locks for drag racing with a shifter mounted release button and virtually instant brake release, but kind of expensive.
I also considered a drive shaft e-brake. Like the one I had on my '61 Plymouth (factory stock) that got stuck and caught on fire "back in the day". Plenty covered with grease from all the
oil leaks the car had, it went up in a nice fire ball.
Bummer, I loved that $15 car...