[jocko]

Have never seen it done on a tailgate. I have seen old male and female ends of seat belts used in lieu of the factory latch (ie one on each side and the center latch and handle smoothed), which seemed like a bad idea unless one had long arms to be able to release both at each side of the tailgate simo. While some high end customs might have done the bear claw on a tailgate, I’ve really only seen a bear claw latch used to replace door latches on old hot rods (because the originals weren’t exactly safe and secure). Am sure it could be done and would be slick, but would probably be a fairly involved mod - which might make some decide that the ol GM latch is good enough. Would love to see if anyone has already done this though.