Yeah,I plan on using bear claws. My brother recently got our dads 55 F-100 on the road and used NOS latches, STILL junk in my opinion. After working with late model cars all day long, I wouldn't even THINK of using those old junk latches unless it was a nuts on restoration.
I got "bear claws" new from Jeep from a Hardtop Wrangler. I also bought the piece of metal they bolt to that holds them in the door. This piece will just about weld in with no mods and the strike will mount to the jamb with next to no mods. I don't know of an easier way to upgrade the latch than this.
The reason I bought them to begin with was that they had a lock built in, which the "street rod" bear claws don't.
You do know where the "bear claws" come from that all the street rod companies sell? They come from motorhomes! Yep, a lot of class A motorhomes use that latch. So, why don't they have a lock? Because the latch is made to bolt to one of those chrome pot metal handles on the Class A motor home "entry door". The lock is in the handle, so the latch needs none.
If you go to the motorhome outlets you may find them cheaper, maybe not. But if you buy one from Joe Street rod you will notice that the manufacture name has been ground off!!!
Brian
