Advantages of bearclaw latches?

What are the advantages of installing bearclaw latches? Or, why do people install them? Just flipping through a magazine and noticed all the places that sold them. Wondering why install them over just keeping the stock setup.

 

From what I have seen they are small and provide a positive locking mechanism.

 

usually they are installed on the earlier body styles because of the cost of repairing worn latches and the bear claws are a more postive latch,,,but I prefer the original type myself. HRP

 

They work and when you start out with shit you take what you can get. This is my reason

 

Your doors don't pop open!!! All kidding aside, early latches were for the most part less than stellar. My '48 Plymouth used to be a matter of 1st gear, shut drivers door, 2nd gear, shut drivers door, 3rd gear, shut drivers door and so on. after bear claws all is well and I can stay in my car even in HARD corners.

 

I have a 35 dodge and one of the things that made me bring up bearclaw latches was the fact that the drivers door pops open a little bit. Doesn't always stay shut. Perhaps this is what you mean? It's a four door and the pillar in the middle isn't very big. Back doors are suicide doors. I wonder if the pillar in the middle is big enough to house two bearclaw latches?

 

Put the latches in the doors, and put the posts on the pillar.

Easy Peasy.

 

bearclaw latches are fairly expensive if you ask me. for my truck i went to a junk yard and got the plates and latches from a cavalier with manual locks. small and easy to install

 

This is what the post looks like:





So I could put it in the door itself and not the pillar?

Cook that's a good idea. What was involved with the install?

 

ive installed a few set of bear claws, and if you are not concerned with originality, they are a leap ahead from the design that most early iron come with.
for most cars and trucks, i'd say use 'em. if you got something real rare, maybe keep the o/e junk



skull

 

actually "bearclaw" latches are just rotary latches ...try this link..or just Google "rotary latches" some of them are not as expensive if you get them from the mfr.

http://www.southco.com/class/r4-rotary-latches-7402.html

Stan

 

Having my wife fall ass over tea kettle out of the 48 31 years ago when the door flew open with stock latches that were in pretty good shape caused me to decide that I needed something that was more secure.

I also had seat belts installed the same afternoon.

She still has visible scars on her face and knees 31 years after the accident and I still shudder that I came that close to loosing her because the door latch didn't hold and she didn't have a seat belt on.
Note: She had the habit of sitting so that her back leaned against the door of the car/truck when she rode in a car with her legs folded up on the seat. Not a safe way for your companion to ride in a vehicle but that was before any seat belt laws were in effect. When she fell out all I saw when she yelled were her feet in the air and her butt as she rolled out of the truck.

It's money and time well spent when you build a car or truck to put the bear claws in.
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you don't get powder sugar all over your black t-shirt.

what? we talking about pastries?

 

I used them because I did away with the door handles and thy worked best with a sonolid

 

mmm... pastries... that's why I prefer white shirts.

 

Yes, with a rotary latch, the striker plate that you have on either side of your pillar there gets replaced with a stud that looks like one of Frankenstein's neck bolts (on your car, they'd end up looking exactly like Frankenstein's neck bolts ). You'll probably have to remove those strikers and plate over the depressions they're in, but other than that, it should be a pretty simple install.

The latch portion of the event lives inside the door, just like your original one did, only now instead of it just being two wedges face to face, you have a stud that is captured by this hook shaped claw thing inside the latch.

Bear Claws (or whatever brand) are just like the rotary latches used in modern cars. If you want to see what it looks like, go check out how the latch works in your daily driver.

The Bear Claw will be a smaller version of the same thing.

Like was said earlier, if you can find somethingwith manual door locks, you can just rob them out of a junkyard donor. Just pay attention to how deep everything is, so you don't end up with a latch that is deeper than your door is thick.

 

If I were you I would install them

 

Excellent explanation. I needed that. Thanks much!

 

My damn doors don't fly open any more is the main advantage, the next best one is they open with a very light pull from a solenoid, I don't have a fish scale to measure but I bet its like 10 pounds or something.

 

I installed bear claw latches on my 55.5 Chevy truck 'cause the factory "latches" are for chit. The originals couldn't hold my doors closed worth a dang. For the added safety (and pretty inexpensive if you ask me), they are worth twice their weight in gold.

 

55chieftan-never be afraid to do a search before you ask a question-lots of info posted on this

 

I installed bear claw latches along with the originals on my 39 cpe.

I kept the originals so I could (easily) keep the stock inside and outside handles, and built a rocker arm and push rod of sorts to actuate the bear claws in tandem with the originals. (i.e. turn the stock handle and BOTH latches open)

It seems almost elementary that the stock latches would be prone to fail in virtually any collision that might move the door a 1/4" in any direction with relation to the pillar...

The stock latches alone just can't be that safe... I can tell that just by looking at them.

 

One of the main advantages from my perspective is that the wedge-shaped striker plates and latchbolts in most older cars only work when the door is properly aligned.

In other words, as the door (or body) moves or flexes, the wedges become dislodged from each other. In an attempt to get around this, the manufacturers used a series of rubber blocks and metal wedges around the door to try to maintain door aligment.

Rotary latches don't need or use the secondary pieces (which is much cleaner in appearance) and they provide a postive latch regardless of door or body movement.

- EM

 

if you have ever had the experience of being thrown out a door of a moving vehicle the cost of rotary latches become "priceless"! let me tell you AD farm trucks had their door flying open constantly.

 

The Bear Claw style latches in the rear of mini-vans, Explorers etc. are smaller than many of the door latches.

For trunk lid use, many of them come with a remote solenoid that pulls a short cable to operate.

 

Are you serious? The Chrysler rotary door latch was a quantum leap forward in safety technology. That car must have been worn out beyond belief.

The early car strike bolt latches when well worn and poorly maintained in a wobbly body with worn out striker plates are indeed loseres but after redoing the body, new striker plates and rebuilding or replacing the latches they are perfectly fine.

The bear claws are a great advance following the stock style in a more compact form.

 

Bear claws are NOT rotary latches.

Rotary latches have a star-wheel that latches in a striker plate on the post. Used on all Chrysler products beginning in the early 40s and on most other cars starting in the late-mid
50s and used up into the early 70s.

 

Yep. I see what you mean. Shit, if you had a 4 door that would could cost you over $50 for the whole car.



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some doors the window channel will interfere . take your door panel off to see if there is room . .................. steve

 

rotary 'star' shaped latches on my 54 effie;bastard to close,(grab handle-push-push harder-slam-slam harder,maybe a dozen times whilst swearing like a tourettes sufferer),bastard to keep closed

Bearclaws & shaved handles on the same;push shut with one finger and a satisfying 'clunk' first time & more importantly STAY shut.
Just my take on it
Paul