56 shaved door handles??????? HELP

[jill56]

Has anyone shaved the door handles on a 55-59? I need help. I want to know how to change the latches to bear claws with the window track in the way. Any help and/or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Jill

[dwcsr]

put the claw in the door jam not in the door. That way you can use remote openers without a lot of engineering. You wil need the istallation kit to do it this way. Someone here has done this already and has some pictures.

[cajundragger]

I'll have pics soon on my '52...

[jill56]

Great!!! I hope to post some pics of my 56 later today.

[CAL 58 GMC]

Originally Posted by dwcsr

put the claw in the door jam not in the door. That way you can use remote openers without a lot of engineering. You wil need the istallation kit to do it this way. Someone here has done this already and has some pictures.

The only problem with having the claw in the post is you don't have any door handles on the inside and if you had to out get when battery's dead or if your in a crash your going to have a hell of a time getting out. Just my 5 cents worth that's only worth about 1 cent most of the time.

[poncho_villa]

I hope these pics help. I didn't do the install myself. The selenoid is mounted under the vent window and a cable controls the bearclaw latch where the stock latch used to be. And yes in can be a PIA when the batter runs dead. A great plan is to have a secret cable up inside the fender also attached to the bearclaw. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

[Lrall]

i see you have a cable running off of your bear claw, does your solenoid 'pull' the cable or how do you have your solenoid setup? Does anyone have the emergency cable??

[poncho_villa]

Yes, the cable from the solenoid pulls the lever at the bear claw latch. I don't have an emergency cable yet, but intend to install one into the fender well area somewhere. The hood is alarmed so I can't put it there. I do have an emergency hidden button, but it is electric and activates the drivers solenoid. Still would be stranded with a dead battery. Booster cables from a live battery gets me in tho.

[Tom Meyer]

I put the in on the door side and the latch on the door frame side. Check it out at http://65.186.223.68/web/photos/toms...picture99.aspx. This is the first picture. There are a couple more in higher pic order.

[49studebaker]

The emergency "pull" I have on the Stude is simply a stiff wire that goes straight down and through a hole on the underside of the door. You can't see it unless you're laying on the ground. It hangs just far enough down, with a 90 degree angle in the end, that it's easy to grab and release. I do like the idea about putting the latch in the cab, rather than the door. I wished I would of done that. Anybody that has solenoids should have a mechanical latch on the inside. You can design some really cool pulls or handles either with a direct lever or a short cable to achieve this.