power door locks
 

I have a set of Trique bear claw door latches for my '49. Unfortunately they don't have any way to lock the doors from inside or outside.
Has anyone installed some kind of power locks that lock from outside with a remote and from inside with a switch?
Any ideas would be appreciated

Re: power door locks
 

Are you saying there is no way to manually lock your doors?

Re: power door locks
 

The Altman Trique latches can be modified to lock with a remote control and a popper, but it buries cheap Chinese components in the door, and IMO that is just looking for trouble.

I thought about using a microswitch on the passenger side key lock, but still the same problem.

At a car show last year, there was an AD truck with a deadbolt solenoid installed low in the cab door jamb at the B pilar, bypassing the Trique lock altogether and operated with a remote key fob. Putting the electrical solenoid of the deadbolt in the cab eliminated running wires into the door.

The door jamb was modifed with a receiver to engage the deadbolt and it all looked very clean. He had two electrical terminals for the system under the hood so if he had a dead battery he could jump it to get the doors open.

Just a thought, but do you really need to lock your truck? I concluded that I really don't go anywhere where there's real danger of it being stolen or vandalized. It has a five speed, which most people these days don't know how to drive, the starter solenoid is concealed and would take a while to figure out how to start it, and if I were really concerned I'd just open the passenger floor and disconnect the battery before I left it somewhere. I suspect if someone really wanted to steal my truck a locking door wouldn't be a sufficent deterent

Re: power door locks
 

thanks guys for the replies
Mick53: Yes, with the Trique latches there is no way to lock the doors.
e015475: I don' like the idea of cheap parts buried in the door. The idea of a deadbolt in the B pillar intrigues me. It would be an easy install and easy wiring.
The idea of being able to lock the doors is 2 fold.
First, to keep my wife happy when she is riding in the truck.
Second, is kind of a security thing. We do have a rather high vehicle theft in this area but mostly new cars. I do have a hidden starter delete switch and a 4 spd trans, so that may help. When it really comes down to it, there is no real way to protect a vehicle from theft except to lock it in a vault and never take it out.

Re: power door locks
 

I found some pictures of the b-pilar deadbolt I saw-

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/.../Deadbolt1.jpg

Here's the setup of the terminals under the hood (assume he had a battery under the floor in the cab)

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/...terminals1.jpg

Every once in a while I hear about somebody's hot rod project being stolen and it seems it mostly happens around shows and auctions. My sense is that whomever took the car knew what they were doing and drug it into an enclosed trailer and went down the road.

Strangely enough, I've had several cars stolen over the years. My teenage son had a sport-truck stolen out of the parking lot at Home Depot and another attempt where they'd gone through the door with a screwdriver then jimmied the ignition swith but must of been interupted because they trashed the door and the column but didn't take the car. Kids around here used to roam the streets stealing cars for joyrides. My business partner left the keys to the company truck in the ignition parked outside overnight and it was gone in the morning. Found it a mile from his house on the street out of gas (it had a 454, so it didn't take long). I think most thefts are just people taking advantage of an opportunity, Deny them the opportunity. Most of them are busy stealing Kias anyway.

Re: power door locks
 

whatever you do, do not eliminate a mechanical way to get out of the truck. i had a friend with a 54 Ford F100 that somebody had set the doors up with electric switches inside. it developed a short in that wiring filling the cab with smoke and no way to get out. had to break a window VERY Dangerous.

Re: power door locks
 

good thought. fortunately this idea is still in the thinking stage

Re: power door locks
 

Where I live I don't worry about someone stealing the truck as much as I worry about them stealing what's in the truck. Especially on road trips. I only have one vehicle that a normal person could drive without instruction. Cant you put key locking handles on both doors? That wouldn't solve the security of when your in the truck. I bought new stock latches but in 45 years I've never had a door open on my 53.

Re: power door locks
 

I installed Klassic Keyless door locks with the Trique Altman door latches on my 55. Trique makes the bracket for the door lock actuator for your 49. Give Tom a call at Klassic Keyless https://www.klassickeyless.com and he will fix you up. Keep in mind what jwhotrod said. If your door is locked and your battery is dead or a short or in my case the key fob battery goes dead you are screwed. You cant open your doors. I carry a spare key fob battery in my wallet now. A good thing my wife's key fob worked. I need to come up with a mechanical means for unlocking the doors. A good old push pull knob on the inside would be nice. I'm going to have to call Chris at Trique and see if he can come up with something like this.

Re: power door locks
 

a cable over ride would be a suggestion. hidden somewhere of course.
vehicles should be set up so that you can exit EASILY at any time, whether in gear or not. if something happens you need to be able to open the door from the inside, roll the windows down from the inside, etc. whether you decide to have a system that totally relies on a battery operated exterior door latch and lock mechanism with no back up, thats up to you. but inside the vehicle you need to be able to get out at any time. as a firefighter i have been at a lot of vehicle accidents where the vehicle is still running and in gear, on a hill or up against a pole etc, but the occupants were outside the vehicle. sometimes the vehicle was simply full of smoke, sometimes on fire, sometimes just a motor vehicle accident. anyway, my point is, you gotta have an easily accessible and openable exit from the inside of the vehicle.

Re: power door locks
 

I have a chance to get armored glass for my windshields and laminated acoustic glass for the doors and back glass on my 53 3 window. I have power windows and stock latches. I'm hesitating on the side glass because it would be hard to break out in an emergency situation. I'm fine with the front armored glass. I could always put an escape hatch in the roof.

Re: power door locks
 

Consider that you can share liability for damages or injury if you are found to have negligently left your vehicle insecure. If you build a truck with no way to lock it and it is stolen, hope your insurer misses that fact. If kids climb in to explore and something bad happens.....you don't want that.

so if you build without locking doors, make some way to lock it in park or lock the ebrake

I assume most people are fitting bear claw latches to improve safety, usually security is a close second. Going to the effort to weld in new latches but not having them lock....I'd look for different latches

Re: power door locks
 

I am doing a frame swap with a 2004 envoy as the donor. I plan to use the door hardware from that. Latches, strikers etc. It can't possibly be harder to make work than an aftermarket unit would be since the door and B pillar need to be modified either way. This way I can also pretty much source any part I would need from a local wrecker. If you wanted to have a little better longevity as far as parts sourcing I would suggest to use a latch mechanism from a really common vehicle, like a chevy half ton.
It just can't be that tough to make work with a new style latch and lockability. Even power locks with a remote. Just don't think too much into it.

Re: power door locks
 

"Like a Chevy half ton"? 53 3100? Have we come full circle? Happy New Year.

Re: power door locks
 

Altman sells a bracket for a power actuator but I didn't find any instructions or what actuators. https://triquemfg.com/products/lock-...n-easy-latches


You tube vid on the actuator https://www.bing.com/videos/rivervie...stvo&FORM=VIRE

Re: power door locks
 

I've seen that video. Just need to call Trique and find out details.
Also found a video that shows how to modify the linkage from the door handle to the latch so the door will lock like original. Now just need to find it again.
Right now I have a list of 14 different things to get done on the truck before spring.

Re: power door locks
 

If you find that video please share it. Thanks

Re: power door locks
 

I just stumbled on this company for bear claw latches and power door locks. Check this out. I like their locking feature better than Triques plus look how the power door lock attaches. They also offer cable releases and interior buttons for controlling the lock without having to use the key fob. The bear claw latch mounting looks identical to the Trique latch.
https://shop.autoloc.com/products/sh...triker-bracket

Re: power door locks
 

Autolock has been around for years and is part of the Hoffman group that operated out of Portland Oregon. Not what folks usually see as high quality products though.

Re: power door locks
 

Hey guys. I just found the you tube link I saw on how to lock a bear claw latch from the inside.
Hope it helps
How to lock 47-54 chevy truck bearclaw
Skip Price

Re: power door locks
 

Cool. I'll have to look for that one.