Anyone modified 41-46 Chevy truck door handles to use bearclaw latches? Looking for a good write up or tech article if anyone has come across one. Did a search and didn’t find to much.
This might help a little bit. It's not a Chevy truck but a 49 Ford. There are over 2,000 pictures and videos on the Base website if you click on the home button on the upper left. https://49fordcoupe.smugmug.com/The-Doors/
Not exactly HAMB friendly but I believe these are designed to use OE door handles..........need to verify though. https://triquemfg.com/collections/chevy-altman-easy-latches
This topic has come up often on different forums and groups, I've never seen an answer yet, I have shaved handles with Bear claw latches with two position trigger arm and didn't see a way for it to work. I mean you could use a series of bell cranks but then you are into the window track and also figuring out what to mount the bell cranks to.
How about just using solenoids, and leave the stock outer handles in place? The outer handles just for holding onto and looking original, but don't operate the latch. Sent from dumb operator on a smart phone
I will like to keep functioning door handles but like the idea of bear claws. Guess I would have to custom fab something if I went this route. Not a lot of options for the 41-16 model years
There was a magazine for Gear-Heads, and those who modified (mostly) old Fords to race against the clocks on dry lakes beds, that began publication in the late forties. It became what I read for Big Medicine in my youth and had an expression that should be incorporated in every Hot Rodder's Man Cave. It defined Hot Rods as 'Ingenuity in Action'. If there are those of us who can jam a Hemi in a Deuce Roadster, Brothers, we should be able to put Bear Claw Latches in a door and the stud on the Door Jamb and figure out how to make the Original Handle work like it was built for the job. No Wimping out is allowed in this game. And, traditional? If we say so, Hell Yeah! Why? 'Cause it it is a safer way of doing business. Nothing more scary that seeing an old film where a car at a drag race does a Donut at speed and you see the doors fly open.
Here is how Steve Demarco at Carolina Custom does it. This is an AD truck but they should be similar. He has all the stuff you need. http://www.carolinacustom.com/pages/main_pages/home_page/home_page.jsp
This was a install in a Model A, BUT the door remotes were 48 Chevy car (NOS) using 48 Chevy handles. The slotted piece of metal allowed the handle to move thru most of it's movement, just releasing the latch near the end of travel. The latch was from http://www.eberhard.com/series/passenger-restraints . Decided to use a small DUAL arm bear claw mechanism. The dual arms allow a link for the outside door handle and a separate link for the inside handle. A link to the latches that I used, models 9-400-R and 9-400-L, similar to the 9D-400-UR and 9D-400-UL without the dovetail. These units also are FMVSS approved. The whole install is shown at: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...all-in-a-1930-model-a-coupe-a-repost.1102036/ This set up utilized inside and outside handles, both only releasing the latch at end of travel. Doors locked the same as original Model A, driver from inside and passenger with key. This may help with some ideas. Good luck
Like how the pictures posted by Rockable have the pin recessed in the door frame. They love to grab pockets or beltloops when you are getting in and out,
The Jalopy Journal
