Bear Jaw Car Door Latch

Most domestic pre-war vehicles utilized a car door latch mechanism very similar to what you would find on your bedroom door. A tapered spring-loaded car door latch bolt that when the door is closed, simply slips over a striker plate tongue and seats in a depression or groove. This automotive door latch design certainly works well for your bedroom door, but is not the best for a moving automobile, especially one that has been vastly updated decades later with better suspension, more horsepower, and so on that can really push the car to its limits.

Occupants need to be secured (use those seatbelts!) and just as importantly, the doors need to stay closed during hard cornering or worst case a collision that involves a rollover. Enter the modern automobile bear claw car door latch that rotates and locks around a robust striker pin or "Nader pin." This style of modern door latch has been used in new vehicles since the early 1960s and hot rodders have been retrofitting them to early hot rods and street rods ever since. Today, Speedway Motors makes this process easier with its Bear Jaw universal car door latches.

Our Bear Jaw custom door latch is designed for vehicles with large doors, such as ’40s and ’50s model cars and trucks and other “fat fender” rides with thick doors and plenty of mounting room. Do not worry if you are considering a bear jaw latch conversion for your Model A or other early vehicle with a thinner door profile, as we offer both Slim-Line Bear Jaw latches and Mini Bear Jaw latches to fit a wide selection of door profiles.