Why bear claw latches?

[mylow53]

i was palming a right hand turn sitting in new jeans and a freshly armor all-ed bench seat (no seat belt it was 1984!!) when at 20 mph the drivers door opened. i went out the door and caught the stearing wheel on the way out with my right hand. i ended up completing the corner while standing on the running board... yes these doors can open when you least expect it!!! that being said i currently am running the original latches and have installed 3 point belts!
GT

[57 3100]

i too am researching the bear claw latches.
my door latches, that are only about 4 years old, are a real pain to get the door closed.
does anyone know if i should get the small or large bear claw latches for my 57 ?
some guys say use the large, some guys say small. does it really matter ?
i will be using the original inside and outside door handles.
thanks

leonard

[entourageguy]

still think these are good. A little pricy but on a finished truck like mine the money saved in repainting seems to work out. Plus they are vehicle specfic kits.

http://triquemfg.blogspot.com/2010/0...atch-kits.html

[Tri5Nerd]

I'm reseaching them too, Kabwe just did his with AutoLoc. I also read somewhere that someone said he used a soft top Jeep door lock, I don't know what the model was but it was heavy duty.

Tri5

[scotts62]

I know its a different year but i put bear claw latches in my 62 and thats the way to go, i had my door fly open on a turn too and talk about gripping the seat and pulling cotton out later! Now that will scare you!

I got mine at the local Rod and Custom show that comes to town every year, if i remember right the brand was Autoloc, they came with the weld in plates and all and they work good with door poppers.

[Thadious]

I pulled a set of YJ soft door locks from a wrecking yard in Oregon. Basically pretty much the same as the Autolocs and meet the maximum space requirement of 3/4" thick to go between the side of the door and the window channel. I bent up a pair of brackets from 18 ga steel and used the cover plate off my kids YJ for a cutout template.

The one thing that I found that you will have to consider with the soft doors is that (atleast my set anyways) has no provision for locking the latch. Two levers with only the capability to unlock the latch, nothing else. I decided to go with door poppers and shave the handles, so this wasn't an issue. If you decide to go with 52-53 door handles, they are lockable from the outside (if you buy the repop set that replaces the drivers button with a lockable one). However you will have to do some mods to change the push button to a lever action (was toying with this myself using pieces from a PT cruiser handle).

Cheers,
Ted.

[alden]

Originally Posted by entourageguy

still think these are good. A little pricy but on a finished truck like mine the money saved in repainting seems to work out. Plus they are vehicle specfic kits.

http://triquemfg.blogspot.com/2010/0...atch-kits.html

It seems like those are only made for the 54 and earlier doors, do they make a 55-59 kit?

[57 3100]

Originally Posted by alden

It seems like those are only made for the 54 and earlier doors, do they make a 55-59 kit?

yep, they sure do...
http://www.triquemfg.com/1955-59_chevy_trucks.php

leonard