Thread: Door latch

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I have a 28 Ford coupe and I'm thinking of installing bear claw latches. Does anyone have any experience doing this and does anyone have pictures of the finished product?

Fred i looked at them also. There will be some cutting and welding . Just make sure of all the measurments . They really dont seem like they would be too difficult.

check out this thread

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...044&&showall=1

signed up looks like some good reading

i see its not cut and dry for a Model A . He did some nice work. This is definitly the way to go for safety.

Here's a BearClaw - small model - for a 31 trunk lid.

There's a 1/8" steel backup plate so as to spread the load.
The 4th bolt - the latch only requires three bolts - is there to keep the backup plate in place when the latch is removed along with spreading the load a little more.

The release cable is a diesel truck item and perhaps a little heavy, but it operates smoothly and a similar one I have is still going strong after 14 years.

The release cable and latch will be covered with a half round sheet metal protector.
Nothing quite like having stuff in the trunk keeping the latch from opening.

Been there, done that with a rumble seat car . . . never again . . . rumble seats anyway....

The small, single cam bear claws will work in a Model A door just fine. They are tight. Make sure that you have the double bellcrank version so you can mount the inside handles without too many pulleys. This is a '30-'31, with electric releases and a Juliano safety latch.