'39 deck lid latch??

[raj4851]

I thought I had a deck lid latch figured out on my '39 Ford two door sedan. I was using the rear window latch off the doner car, an '86 S10 Blazer. I have it mounted on the trunk floor. It worked before but with the angle of the deck lid coming down makes it really hard to adjust and I think it's time to break down and invest in a Bearclaw or something more user friendly. Am I over thinking this thing? Also, if the latch is on the decklid, I'd think the cable would be kind of hard to route. What am I missing? thanks in advance, Rod

[M.T.]

If you can French the bear claw down into the floor and run the remote cable up to the front of the car it would make for a nice security feature. You are going to have to make the latch or the striker adjustable though. Unless you can crawl in and shut the lid and mount everything together. Of caurse you have to have someone your really, really, trust to let you back out if things go wrong... probably not your wife?

[rspears]

Check out this latch assembly from Speedway, which I think is copied from the old VW Bugs. The female component goes on the body, and the male on the lid. You may or may not need the brace assembly for the male component, and it has to have a remote cable hooked & adjusted before it latches, and fails open if the cable breaks.
Trunk or Hood Latch Assembly, Female Component - Speedway Motors, America's Oldest Speed Shop
Trunk or Hood Latch Assembly, Male Component - Speedway Motors, America's Oldest Speed Shop

Seems like someone on here used one of these, and on the male pin portion made a neat mount that was piece of round barstock rod with a threaded hole through crosswise, with the rod mounted in a pair of washers so that it rotated a bit, hanging down straight as the trunk lid dropped to align with the hole.

[raj4851]

M.T., I ordered a bear claw type latch. I got mine working so I'll leave it on there for now.
rspears, thanks for the speedway latch info. I've looked at the VW type and was ready to order on until a friend of mine said that the bear claw style worked for him.

Thank you both for your input. It is much appreciated, Rod