Bear claw latch install. OK, my goal for this one is to have doors that easily open and close, and are safe. I'll be hauling around my kids in this truck and my wife says she'll be driving this to the gym on weekends, so I want the doors to stay shut around all corners. I like my stock turn-down exterior handles, so I plan to keep them and make it work. The only part I'm not quite sure yet is how to lock them. I got the bear claw kit from Autoloc (off Amazon.com) that has the locking feature, which I may or may not use. I don't want power windows, but I kinda would like remote unlocking to make daily driving a little nicer. Any input from others who might have already figured this out is welcomed.
Here's the start:
Since the small style bearclaw won't fit between the window track and the "bumpout" on the door, I decided to make the "bumpout" bigger. I cut about 1/4" inside the outline of it, made relief cuts in the corners, and folded it out with a crescent wrench. Then, I made a block-off plate to fit the new opening and with some trimming, welded it in:
Very crude paint job in photobucket to show cuts I made:
As you'll see, I didn't buy the install kit for the latches. I just couldn't see spending the same amount I did on the latches on a bent piece of 18ga. and a caged nut.... Posterboard from Dollar General worked great to figure out what I needed:
With the jamb side, I only got to start in on before we moved and put the truck in storage, so that will progress in the coming weeks. I cut all the spot welds and removed the structure I wouldn't need. I'm going to end up re-working this whole area, to make it conform to the new latches. I no longer need the deep recess that the stock latch used:
