Finally getting to the end of my truck build and trying to remember everything that I've not finished or forgotten to do.  Over breakfast one day my wife asked me about door locks and securing my truck.  I explained that with no outside door handles or locks, getting into it would be difficult short of breaking a window.  "Well", she asked... how do you get out ?"  I told her that there was a electric toggle switch on the console that actuated the door locks.  "Well", she questioned " what if the battery is dead?"  (see line one for things you've forgotten)   I told her that I hadn't thought of that.  Really stupid thing to do, I'll add.... admitting that you didn't think of anything.

She promptly told me she wasn't riding in a truck she couldn't get out of or into if the battery was dead.   I explained the battery posts under the fender offer access to jump the battery and open the doors and there was a emergency cable outside the cab that opened the drivers door.  But, that didn't answer her question about getting out.

I started doing a little research and found a nice set of shiny levers from Clayton Machine works  on Amazon that you install in the door that would trip the bear claw latches and open the door and bought a set. 

After working with them a while I came to the conclusion that they wouldn't work (you need some ??)  The door latches are between the door edge and the window hardware and they are so close to the door edge there is not enough room to make them work.

I tried putting them somewhere else in the door with a long rod to pull the latch, but it just wouldn't work out for me AND the way they are constructed, all the mounting has to be done from the inside of the door. That would be ok if you have a removable door panel with space behind it, but my doors have a solid metal inside and the panel will be velcro'd/screwed flush to that sheet. But in a '53 door with the windows installed there is not room to get these little screws (#8 and #6) threaded through the holes and lined up with the bezel and then tighten them with about 1.5 " of room total.

After a meal to replenish my brain cells and some mental stuff I decided to take an alternate route..   I would still pull the latch from inside the door but would fabricate my own mechanics to do it.  As I mentioned, room inside the door is at a premium and the space between the window and the inside door panel is tight. 

Here's some pics that might explain it better

I still used the same pull point on the latch but used a shorter rod.  I cut a 5/32" wide slot in the door face about 1" long... plenty of length for the pull to open the latch.   After some measurements and rod bending I came up with the diagram above.  I did use the shiny chrome knob from the Clayton kit to pretty it up inside. Still got to touch up the paint in the slot and figure out some kind of bezel or escutcheon to use after upholstery is done.  Conversation with my interior guy might give me a solution.