In Greece I can purchase group A strut for sierra cosworth. They are Bilstein struts from Ford. Drivers are using them on Merkur XR4Ti in the United States, but I do not know where they are bought. Does anyone know?

As far as I'm aware euro sierra dampers are not a bolt in for US sierra's. If your prepared to drop a fair bit of coin John @ JVAB has the hot shit that WILL bolt up.

---

Name: Dawud Jackson (DJ)
Age: 30
Location: Seattle, WA
Occupation: Computer dude.

The actual Group A strut requires the Group A upright, TCA, and compression strut. Us in the USA on Bilstein rally stuff got it from John Vanlandingham in Seattle. As far as rally suspension goes, it's really inexpensive and affordable and well worth the money!

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Grant Hughes

Is there e-mail address for John Vanlandingham?

SNestor Wrote:
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> Is there e-mail address for John Vanlandingham?

Yes, you can look at http://www.rallyrace.net/jvab and the contact details are there.
There is also lots of pretty photos of the parts I build.

When you say Group A that means that the upright or knuckle and hub looks like this:


Is this what you have?
Is this what you want?

The strut which goes with that has a body which looks like this:


A guy out here just happens to have some nice fresh GpA uprights, arms, links and I have the rest including the complete struts.


If you have either 4x4 or 2wd with original knuckle/and upright I can help you either way.
Export is no problem, just sent new forged piston on Monday to a guy in Portugal with an e-x-works GpA Volv0 and on Tuesday it was JVAB conecting rods to a guy in Finland doing a rally cross motor.

Lots of good easy to find Ford Sierra info here and lots of very good photos at the website.

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

The only group A items I need are the strut assemblies. I am not using group A hubs or arms. You can use the group A struts with 3-door hubs by cutting off the strut bottom and welding a metal part in place that pushes into the pinch part.

I am not in Greece anymore since my wife and I moved to Canada. Posting should not be difficult.

I had trouble with a set of old group A struts I paid for. The inserts were scraped. I would like to pay for new Bilstein strut inserts. Are you able to receive those John? What company do you work for?

SNestor Wrote:
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> The only group A items I need are the strut
> assemblies. I am not using group A hubs or arms.
> You can use the group A struts with 3-door hubs by
> cutting off the strut bottom and welding a metal
> part in place that pushes into the pinch part.

OK. I make them either way. You have a 2wd car or 4wd?
This is what you need?

>
> >I am not in Greece anymore since my wife and I
> >moved to Canada. Posting should not be difficult.

Well not difficult but a bit expensive.
I have sold 5 or 6 sets of my suspension to rally boys on Ontario, and maybe 5 to boys in Alberta, and for direct shipments it seems that Fed-Ex Ground service is best all round.
>
> I had trouble with a set of old group A struts I
> paid for.

Say where you got them. There are many real bandits in the second hand Ford business in UK so it's good to know when a person has problems.


The inserts were scraped.

How were they 'scrapped"? Were they bent? was the oil gone?


>I would like
> to pay for new Bilstein strut inserts.

Well I do have lots of inserts for Ford just now---16-18 units.

But they are second hand. I have gone and checked each one for straightness, and straightened those which weren't perfect.
Now remember the inserts Ford used on the Sierra and Escort Cosworth were 41 while in here in North America we can get only new 40.

What we need to do is get more details about what you are trying to do, what parts you have now, what use the car will see like are you making a gravel rally car?


Do you intend to try and use the Group A bottom tubes and chop the "ears" off and welding on a bottom ---well I make those bottoms, in fact I make all the parts except the spring and the Bilstein insert.





More under "making stuff"
http://www.rallyrace.net/jvab/spgm/index.php?spgmGal=Making_stuff&spgmFilters=

I make this wonderful strut top mount:





Here are my Sierra 2wd struts all new:



Here is one local crazy guy very happy with his for Volvo turbo car:

These were the bigger 50mm inserts--not easily available.

Are you
> able to receive those John?

I can supply what ever you need front or REAR---you have not said what is on the back of the car and it should be discussed.

What company do you
> work for?
My little 1.25 man company is called JVAB Imports. Started in 1984 to do import of mainly Saab, Opel and Volvo rally parts from Sweden and UK. Back then it was a lot of suspension parts, gearbox parts, final drive and LSDS, steering racks, nasty camshafts etc. By the mid 90s I began importing Cosworth parts in small scale. I have built 6-7 Cosworth engines, you see some here (that's a Cosworth BDG I'm holding)





and in 2003 started delivering my struts.
My experience in working with Bilstein parts goes back to 1975 when I lived and worked in Sweden and rode moto-cross and we began taking apart Bilsteins to try and revalve them---it worked!

So Nestor, tell us more about yourself and the car and what the plans are so we can figure out the easiest plan.
Tell us exactly what you have in hand, and maybe we can save the inserts you have.

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Your strut bodies look like they will work from the beginning. I will not have to cut the bodies. The hubs on my car are 2wd (45,5mm pinch).

My old struts were purchased in Greece from a car that was separated into pieces. The insert chrome body was scraped where it pushes into the strut body. I did not want to put new inserts in the old strut body if the strut body was cutting. I was able to return the struts.

I may not hate installing old inserts, but, can you collect new inserts? Can you explain more about 40mm and 50mm inserts? I am told to choose 50mm inserts, but Ford did not use them?

The car has 50mm Bilstein rear shocks (46mm piston - B46) on it now. The rear shocks are rebuilt by Bilstein to 260/100 valves.

The car will not be used on gravel. The car will be used at Targa Newfoundland - a tarmac rally.

My name is Sebastian. Nestor is my family name :-) Thank you very much for the help - this is very fun!

SNestor Wrote:
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> Your strut bodies look like they will work from
> the beginning. I will not have to cut the bodies.
> The hubs on my car are 2wd (45,5mm pinch).


OK, now we're getting someplace.

>
> My old struts were purchased in Greece from a car
> that was separated into pieces. The insert chrome
> body was scraped where it pushes into the strut
> body. I did not want to put new inserts in the old
> strut body if the strut body was cutting. I was
> able to return the struts.
>
> I may not hate installing old inserts, but, can
> you collect new inserts? Can you explain more
> about 40mm and 50mm inserts? I am told to choose
> 50mm inserts, but Ford did not use them?

Yes Ford did but they are very VERY rare and absurdly expensive.
They weigh more, they are stronger, but the weight and cost and the fact we are nowhere as hard on things here as on WRC, means I believe we can survive just fine with 40/41mm.
>
> The car has 50mm Bilstein rear shocks (46mm piston
> - B46) on it now. The rear shocks are rebuilt by
> Bilstein to 260/100 valves.

Do you know the full part number so I know the length.

>
> The car will not be used on gravel. The car will
> be used at Targa Newfoundland - a tarmac rally.

OK, I do have some tarmac length and valved inserts but I seriously think that what top teams did on full tarmac cars in WRC would be really low and really stiff even for Targa.
I suggest a bit longer and valved toward the stiff end of the forest spec.
Somewhere around 380/140 maybe.


>
> My name is Sebastian. Nestor is my family name
> :-) Thank you very much for the help - this is
> very fun!

OK, good. John here, or Jan, or Jean or Juan

I guess next step is telephone.

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

The ford motorsport part number for the rear shock is 9093519. Do you know the bilstein part number for this? Bilstein wanted their part number for revalve but I did not have it.

Used 41mm inserts is the only choice, yes? I do not mind paying more for new, but you can not collect them?

I can not talk with the telephone in english yet. I must use a translation book and my daughter or wife to write! Happily I drive faster than I learn.

SNestor Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The ford motorsport part number for the rear shock
> is 9093519. Do you know the bilstein part number
> for this? Bilstein wanted their part number for
> revalve but I did not have it.

Don't have the Bilstein number but that 909 number is a 4x4 tarmac rear.
It was originally valved 340/160.
And it was used with a spring that was 34 and 50 n/mm or in North America between 197 and 308 lb/in (pounds per inch)

With your current valving I would reccomend no more than 200 lb/in or an absolute max 220 lb/in
>
> Used 41mm inserts is the only choice, yes? I do
> not mind paying more for new, but you can not
> collect them?

I can supply new 40mm or second hand units that are rebuilt and revalved.
>
> I can not talk with the telephone in english yet.
> I must use a translation book and my daughter or
> wife to write! Happily I drive faster than I
> learn.

OK, I know that problem very well!
I was immigrant in Sweden for 7-8 years and then worked racing in France and Germany, Suisse, Belgium and even South Africa, and it was always no fun speaking on the phone. In person no problem, on the phone BIG PROBLEMS.
Now I have family and business in China. Oh dear!

So we can do this all in writing.

Where in Ontario are you?
There's a lot of Ontario boys here and lots of them have my suspension.
We should put you in contact with them.

>
>

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

John,

I am shocked that you don't speak at least some Greek!! Ha Ha Ha!

Sebastian,

You will now be called Seb! John builds good stuff. I was over at his machine shop looking at parts the other night.

Robert.

---

Robert.

"You are way too normal to be on Rally Anarchy." Eddie Fiorelli.

Bilstein did not have the part number for my rear shock also! I have a 36N/mm spring on the rear shock.

What valvings can you provide for a new 40mm insert without a Bilstein revalve? Can we ask for any valving from Bilstein for a new insert? Do you make struts with Bilstein's P36 inserts?

Thank you for the fast replys. I am in Sault Ste. Marie Ontario. The "Soo".

I can definitely help with any Greek translation! I also live 10 minutes from Bilstein in Poway. I have been happy with Bilstein' s service in the past.

Giorgos

---

Civic Rally Car

SNestor Wrote:
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> Thank you for the fast replys. I am in Sault Ste.
> Marie Ontario. The "Soo".

Hey! Thats pretty close to being a yooper! (Someone from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. U.P. You Pee. Yooper.) I'm over in Houghton, about 5 hours drive through the UP from the Soo. There are some great gravel and snow events within not too many hours away from you, if you're interested in those. Like LSPR, Sno Drift,Black Bear, Perce Neige. I know I sure wouldnt mind seeing a nice xr4 at LSPR.