Bear Claw latches

[booger1949]

an also if u take the door mechanism off an cut the top mount hole off an mount it upside down the door rod will fit the groove that chevrolet made to start with an it will work 100 percent better. so think ahead an when u cut the hole for the rod to come out of, do it a little lower an it will lay perfect in that groove, u will have no probs with your door panels

[mobileortho]

Got mine in the other day. Rethinking shaving the handles. I've got it figured out in my head how to use the stock door handles and outside locks on both doors.

[mobileortho]

Decided to go ahead and shave the handles. Got the latches installed and just have to go back and smooth things up a bit.

[mobileortho]

Just about done with the bear claws. Finished installing the keyless entry. I ended up using a Bull Dog keyles entry kit from Autozone ($50) because I could never ger the one that came with the solenoids to work right.

[tmoble]

Robert,

Are those the Trique/Altman latches? what is that deal at the bottom of the door? is that a solenoid for the keyless entry? Need to know more about what you did there. were you able to come up with any solution about the locking issues?

[_Ogre]

i believe the altman has a locking means, but no other bearclaw has locks.
if you still have handles and can make the button work with bearclaws, install a key lock in each door.
i shaved my doors using stock latches, for a safety release, i used bicycle brake cable and sheathing.
bicycle sheathing has neat little ends for attachment through a bracket.
i ran the sheath and cable through my door wire loom with the wires for my latch solenoid, power window and speaker wires.

[mobileortho]

Originally Posted by tmoble

Robert,

Are those the Trique/Altman latches? what is that deal at the bottom of the door? is that a solenoid for the keyless entry? Need to know more about what you did there. were you able to come up with any solution about the locking issues?

They're the large bear claw latches. Since I shaved my door handles, I don't really need to worry about the locking feature since the remote opens the door. Those are 50lb solenoids at the bottom that I wired to the Bull Dog keyless entry kit.

I like the Altman kit, but went this route to save a few bucks. After selling the old door hardware for $50, I have under than $100 in this setup.

[mobileortho]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

i believe the altman has a locking means, but no other bearclaw has locks.
.

I bought the Autoloc Bear Claws and they are the locking type. There was an L shaped lever that attaches to your factory locks. It slides up and down to lock the latch. I removed the locking mechanism since I was shaving the handles.

[53lochevy]

use the small ones here are some pics of the install on my 52 using the small bearclaws with the orginal door push door handle, take your time and lay it out,,dont butcher the door like others have
hers my build link for them
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=313631

[Clay54]

Originally Posted by 53lochevy

use the small ones here are some pics of the install on my 52 using the small bearclaws with the orginal door push door handle, take your time and lay it out,,dont butcher the door like others have
hers my build link for them
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=313631

Sorry guys. I missed something somewhere! Where do you get the small bear claws to make this mod?

[4DSEVEN]

I shaved my door handles and bought the door popper kit through Scott's here on the forum I believe. Have yet to do the install.

Are all you guys reversing the post and claws?

I wasn't planning to do this but is it necessary etc.?

Please explain the reasoning.

[oldcouple]

This the kit, kind of spendy, but can be installed even if its painted. http://www.triquemfg.com/Altman_Easy_Latch_Kits.html

[_Ogre]

nice work on that linkage 53lochevy

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by Clay54

Sorry guys. I missed something somewhere! Where do you get the small bear claws to make this mod?

the small bearclaws do not have the 2nd jaw or latch and are not intended for doors, you would be safer with stock latches.
to be honest, i'm not sure why you would use bearclaws, i bought a set with the install kit.
after i saw the shortcomings of no lock and difficulty with linkages, i bought repop stock door latches.
they bolted right in and work amazingly well and then i decided to shave my handles

anyone need a smoking deal on bearclaws w/ install kit? pm me...

[Clay54]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

the small bearclaws do not have the 2nd jaw or latch and are not intended for doors, you would be safer with stock latches.
to be honest, i'm not sure why you would use bearclaws, i bought a set with the install kit.
after i saw the shortcomings of no lock and difficulty with linkages, i bought repop stock door latches.
they bolted right in and work amazingly well and then i decided to shave my handles

anyone need a smoking deal on bearclaws w/ install kit? pm me...

Thanks Ogre, I thought 53lochevy did a good job with the pictures and explanation but I did not understand where he got the bear claws to do the project. There was no mention in his "parts needed list". Clay

[drivea55]

I went witb altmans. Quite pricey but direct bolt in with minor atlering and uses stock handles and locks.

Posted via Mobile Device

[4DSEVEN]

Originally Posted by oldcouple

This the kit, kind of spendy, but can be installed even if its painted. http://www.triquemfg.com/Altman_Easy_Latch_Kits.html

Thanks for the link.

I placed my order today.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

...to be honest, i'm not sure why you would use bearclaws...

Cause the original ones FREQUENTLY would cause the door to fly open on a turn. If you're anywhere near my age (57) plenty of you went out that door or had a brother/sister/pet/groceries do it. All the stories of it I've heard were funny, but I bet a few were tragic.

Originally Posted by _Ogre

...anyone need a smoking deal on bearclaws w/ install kit? pm me...

Whose kit? How much? I might be interested though I've got to admit that Trique kit looks awfully tempting...EVEN at that price - ugh!

[mobileortho]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

to be honest, i'm not sure why you would use bearclaws, i bought a set with the install kit.

I initially set out to use the original style latch. I only needed to replace the drivers side (if anyone needs a good passenger latch let me know) but after checking with a vendor I used frequently, I was told that the repops had numerous reports of failure and they'd stopped carrying them until they could find a more suitable manufacturer. I know how it feels to have the door fly open. It happened to me with a '49 I used to have. It opened as I rounded a corner with my then five year old son hanging onto it for dear life!!

[_Ogre]

I've driven these trucks since the early 70s I know worn latches will pop open. Never had a problem with my new ones.

I nearly lost my sister and a perfectly good rocking chair out of my panel truck
but that's a story for another day
Posted via Mobile Device

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

the small bearclaws do not have the 2nd jaw or latch and are not intended for doors, you would be safer with stock latches.
to be honest, i'm not sure why you would use bearclaws, Anyone need a smoking deal on bearclaws w/ install kit? pm me...

Well Orge I can post photos of the scars that are still on my wife's cheek and knees 34 years after she fell out of the 48 when I was running stock door latches that were in "good" shape at the time. She had a bad habit of turning sideways in the seat and leaning on the door and when we went around a corner the door popped open and out she went backwards.
The first week I had the 48 in 1973 I took a right hand corner two blocks from the house and luckily had my arm over the window sill as the door popped open and I was hanging on by the window sill and the steering wheel. I went straight to the Chev garage and bought new latches and strikers that were still available then.

I have Kenworth truck bear claws in the 48 and have had them in there since 1981 When I paid just under 8.00 each for the latches new from Kenworth. I had to build all my own actuating pieces though and will probably go with aftermarket pieces this time around.
They look like this set on Ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/PAIR-OF-KENW...c9455e&vxp=mtr

[tmoble]

interesting, looks like the source of a bunch of this stuff.

http://www.trimarkcorp.com/en/zCateg...tcategoryid=20

[Scotts53]

does anyone have the templates for the latches that 53lochevy created?

[skip99]

I've got 2 sets of the linkage, from when I made mine, pretty much the same...check my build, I made a few extra just in case !
pm me an address ,I'll send you a set, or a tracing, whichever..

[mobileortho]

I finally have everything hooked up and woorking the way I want it to. I ended up using a Bull Dog kit from Autozone to pop the doors. No door poppers needed with the Bearclaws. It may not be the prettiest install but I'm happy.