Thread: bear Claw door latches

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Anybody installed Bear Claw door latches in their rides ? If so are they that much better than original ? What's the good and bad of them ? Thinking of putting them in my 40 Ford p/u. I want to get the doors air and water tight with rubber moldings and the latches if necessary. Thanks for the inputs.

I have them on my '34. They're well named. They're solid as a rock and grip like a bear. I wouldn't use anything else on mine because I have suicide doors. (I also have dead bolts for the same reason.) Get them adjusted right, and you'll have NO wobble in your door. Good, firm & solid.

They get my vote, too!!!! Very solid latch, work great and last forever!

Ditto what they said, the only way to go.

Have them in my 50 Ply wagon. They latch a whole lot tighter than any stock latch. I guess that's why they are called bear latches.

I put them on my '37. I also got the pre-made mounting kits, which made the installation easier because I had to correct some previous bad latching decisions.....

Unless you like the excitement of your doors popping open at inopportune moments (washboard road going into a turn....) you really want to go with a good bear claw latch.

I need to look into these for my 40. That door popping open going around a corner is not real cool when the people aren't used to it.

I used them in my 1928 A roadster,much better lock.

I can tell and SHOW what happens with out the use of them AND the dead bolt. This happened at about 30MPH. There was NO holding it when it popped open.

Originally Posted by Navy7797

Anybody installed Bear Claw door latches in their rides ? If so are they that much better than original ? What's the good and bad of them ? Thinking of putting them in my 40 Ford p/u. I want to get the doors air and water tight with rubber moldings and the latches if necessary. Thanks for the inputs.

Manually operated or electric? My '37 Oze roller had bear claw latches that came with it, but no way to operate them. I wanted electric remote control, so I bought new AutoLoc latches, with the solenoid actuators. They work fine, but the method of mounting the solenoid to the latch is stupid. A bracket is provided that has three of the four holes that are used to mount the latch. You're expected to get just the right length of 5mm bolt and thread nuts onto the protruding bolts, inside the door, where you can't see them. I modified the solenoid brackets to bolt to the latch with two 10-32 button head cap screws, so the solenoid and latch could be placed inside the door as an assembly, and attached with four 6mm flat head screws. All I had to do was drill and tap two holes in latch and drill two matching holes in the solenoid bracket.

Some brands of latches will require English 1/4-20 flat head screws for mounting, but AutoLoc products are all metric and use 6mm screws.

AutoLoc sells a mounting kit that includes a steel support plate for the door and a door strike mounting plate, with a floating 7/16" nut for the strike bolt.

Locking Large Bear Claw Door Latch Set « autoloc.com

Power Bear Claw Door Latch - Large « autoloc.com

Large Bear Claw Door Latch Install Kit « autoloc.com

Bear claw latches can be operated by cable, rod, or a solenoid. I have all three operating mine.

The inside door handle operates the Bear Claw by a rod behind the door panel, the cable operates the Bear Claw from a hidden location for emergency access (think dead battery), the solenoid operates the Bear Claw by my remote key fob. The solenoid can be mounted anywhere inside the door and connected to the Bear Claw by a cable or rod. Operate the solenoid through a relay via a hidden switch and/or a remote. Hooking up a Bear Claw latch is easy.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/el...FYtAMgodJHUAxw
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/el...FQoEaQodpocAyw

Many other sources on the net.

mine were operated by a rod I don't remember what car I got the operators from but that's where the rods came from.

Manual Bear Claws and a dead bolt. I honestly can't remember how the Bear Claws are connected to the door handle but I think it's just a short metal link.

bear claw.jpg

Ok that settles it, I'm going with the Bear Claw. Any recommendations as to size I should use on my 40 Ford p/u ? Or what brand is the best ?
Thanks for all the inputs !!!!!!