I'm looking at replacing the door latches in my 53 pontiac and shaving the handles. The plan was originally to go with the power bear claw latches from Rocky Hinge. The issue is clearance inside the door for the latch and actuator. The inside of the door currently has the window track about a half inch from the inside of the door panel, so not enough space for the new setup. The existing latch is thin and long and runs along side the window in parallel with the door, so it's a completely different set-up. The latches are pretty shot so they need to be replaced no matter what. Here are the two options I'm considering: A) Lower the latch position on the door so the latch is below the window track. It would put the latch at about 2/3 of the way down the door. B) Put the post on the door and mount the latch on the B pillar. I'd prefer not to go with option B so I can mostly keep the current inner door handle setup. My concern is the current latch was put there for a reason, as opposed to more towards the bottom of the door. What, if any, are the concerns with moving the latch down? Anyone ever done power bear claws on a 53 Chieftan? Should I bite the bullet and put the post on the door? Thanks in advance.
You'll never get the door braced up enough for the top corner of the window frame not to have excessive flex and movement if you put the latch that low. thats why it is where it is. Did you get the small or large latches? You can remote mount the solenoid. that should give you enough room with those doors. Or you could box out the inner door jamb if the window channel is to close to the rear of the door. There should be plenty of room inside the door jamb to box it out far enough for a bear claw. the latch itself is only 3/4" thick.
holy cow! those latches are pretty deep with the actuators mounted like that. I would suggest the autoloc latches. like I said they are 3/4" thick. and the way they look you could get the power ones and cut the acutator off and remote mount the actuator with some 1/8" cable and 3/16" brake line. thats how i do shaved doors always works great and stands the test of time. They might have a kit that doesn't have the actuators mounted on the latch. call em up and see. And your right mounting the latch itself on the b pillar (body side) causes a whole host of problems usually not worth the ease of mounting. Both of autoloc's latches are 3/4" thick the only difference is one is 1 1/4" wide and the other is 1 3/4" wide (baisically the thickness of the door, i think the smaller ones are for model A's or something with a very thin door.) They have nice measurements on the web site that would give you a very good idea if they would work in your door.
Thanks for the advice Kris. Rocky hinge does sell setups with the actuator remote mounted. I kinda dug the single piece construction but it doesn't look like it's worth the hassle. I've seen some bad feedback on autoloc...you've used and would recommend? Thanks.
I've never had any problem with their latches. Most of the issues I've seen from their stuff was due to poor or improper installation.
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