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Technical 1936 Ford coupe door latch assembly help needed

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by clips221, Mar 27, 2026 at 12:57 PM.

  1. clips221
    Joined: Nov 17, 2010
    Posts: 248

    clips221
    Member

    I'm wanting to put manual door latch ***emblies back on my 36 3w. I've attached 2 pics. The red door latch is my 3 window which has the door poppers. The white door latch is in my 5 window which is the original design. What's my best option to swap over from the poppers back to manual openers? The door skin has been filled in but the inside handle brackets are still there.. thanks for any help.
     

    Attached Files:

  2. ***Area-51***
    Joined: Mar 25, 2005
    Posts: 954

    ***Area-51***
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Ohio

    The white 5w door is original.

    The red door appears to be a bear claw.
     
  3. Happydaze
    Joined: Aug 21, 2009
    Posts: 2,443

    Happydaze
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Unless you're a stickler for originality why not keep the bear claws, ditch the solenoid poppers, install an outside handle and rig up rods or cables to operate the bear claws? The red door has already been butchered and the bear claws are a technically better / safer latch.

    Chris
     
    BJR likes this.
  4. 38Chevy454
    Joined: Oct 19, 2001
    Posts: 6,831

    38Chevy454
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Yes, red door has a bear claw type latch. With a very rough installation and lot of hacked up metal. If you want to just start over with new latches and install kits pieces, see my website:
    www.hotrodlatches.com

    Your doors are definitely able to fix up and have nice bear claw latches which are a big improvement over the original latches. I recommend the large size latches, which is what looks like the red door has.
     
  5. finn
    Joined: Jan 25, 2006
    Posts: 1,548

    finn
    Member

    Both my 36 pickup and 36 five window have the original latches. While quaint and nostalgic, they aren’t overly safe. I wouldn’t recommend backdating to originals unless there is some overriding reason.

    Keep the original handle, the door closed and who would know.
     

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