Bear Claw Latches

[HOT ROD FRED]

There is a bit of talk on this site about what cars to use bear claw latches in,how to fit them,and whether people like them or not.There is one mention of the Eberhard brand,some mentions of places to buy them,but other than that,all talk is generic.l have heard stories about varying quality,but nobody talks brands.Could people please advise what brands they have used and how well these have lasted.Thanks

[tobyboy]

hi fred, if you are going for full rego it's best to use the latches from an existing car as they will be aus design approved and an engineer wont have any trouble signing of on it.
some of the jap cars ones are small or magna rear door latches are fairly small.
other than that there is a mob in brunswick vic that do truck door hinges and locks. i dont know thier name you might have to just google them. or fleebay.
cheers

[CarGuys]

Fred Concept latch in Brunswick have an ADR approved version of the "Bear claw" correctly it's a two stage rotary latch. Roughly $30 ish for the latch and $15 or so for the pin. Dont buy the popular US ones most I've seen are to flexible in the body and components. What is your application and what are the install questions you have?

Mark

[bloodviper]

the ones from auto loc in the us i have herd sum have passed over here and others get told to take them out and put in adr aproved if it was my rod i would not feel safe un less it had the double lock like normal car locks have

[Dabrougham69]

yeah i agree with mark, i was looking at the rotary latches last time I was at concept lock&latch, very good quality

[38Chevy454]

I do not intend this as spam, but as legitimate contribution to this thread. I have some very good latches made in USA and federal motor vehicle safety approved that I am selling. These are not cheap aftermarket crap made in China or other third world country. They are OEM quality and in fact are made by ISO-9000 quality supplier to OEM's. I can sell these shipped to your door in AU for US$44.45. I am not a big seller, just a hot rod guy that wanted good quality for my own parts. I simply sell these to help fellow rodders out and make a small amount to put towards car funds. I have both large double rotor style and the smaller single rotor catch style, both with matching striker bolts that meet the standards. Both sizes are two-position latches.

I have sold about 10 sets to Australian rodders. I can provide a specification sheet that lists the specs and should get you through engineer inspection without trouble, although I am not personally familiar with your process. There has not been a single person i have sold these to that has not been anything excpet very happy with the quality and construction of them. PM me if you want more info, or search the classifieds for my official for sale post.

Large size:


Small size:

[HOT ROD FRED]

Thanks 38Chevy454.What brand are these marked as?

l wasn't aware of the Concept Latch bearclaws.Sounds like a good thing,especially as ADR approved.Are these the only ADR approved latches in Aus,or are there others?

[HOT ROD FRED]

Fred Concept latch in Brunswick have an ADR approved version of the "Bear claw" correctly it's a two stage rotary latch. Roughly $30 ish for the latch and $15 or so for the pin. Dont buy the popular US ones most I've seen are to flexible in the body and components. What is your application and what are the install questions you have?

Mark

Thanks Mark.Are these small enough to do an A Model?

[CarGuys]

Fred if the A is a Coupe, Tudor or has windows then pretty much everything is a compromise. The window in an A door runs pretty much up and down in the area the door lock would normally go. So you may have to half hal;f the deal and potrude the lock into the door jam area and such. Haven't had to do it on an A with windows yet. If your their for an open car the locks are small enough.

We do have a Tudor under way at the moment and it will have these locks installed at some stage, so if your not breaking your neck to do it we should have pictures of the install in the coming months.

I'am pretty sure we have both the smaller and larger versions on the shelf if you want to have a look at them, your welcome to drop over.

Mark

[38Chevy454]

Thanks 38Chevy454.What brand are these marked as?

They are made by Trimark Corporation; which is a ISO-9000 quality supplier to OEM manufacturers. These are as good as any you can find quality and price both. They do not have a brand, as they are not a direct seller. They sell mostly to manufacturers, and then little old me

[scooter33]

Fred Concept latch in Brunswick

So does anyone have some more details such as a web site or contact for Fred?

Scooter33

[turns]

Just 'Concept Latch' - no Fred

03 9388 2551

Cheers Turns