The best method of "caging" a mk1..

[Volksee77]

I think the best thing would be to get some PVC and belt you over the head with it!, just kidding Josh, you're wasting your time with a fake one and it will make the car impratical for normal use and be a police magnet, not worth it mate.

[Jace]

PVC? Seriously?
Might as well make one out of swimming noodles... at least it'd be colourful.

[straight_fresh]

its called a show cage guys, unless you've been under a rock you woulda seen 99% of euro and us golfs rocking one... tunershop.com sell direct bolt on ones in a few different finishes and configurations, bit xpensive and shipping would kill you again i reckon, link below

Tunershop - Roll Bars - Roll Cages - tuning - german wheels and tires - spacers - coilovers

[Peter Jones]

European cage regs for road and race are very different to those here and there's a wide variety of quite acceptable (to Europe) bolt-in cages.

Sounds like you're on the right track to make something that is illegal on both the race track and on the street.

This is how it's done.

[tassie_euro_mk1]

Your best bet Josh is to save some coin and get a cams approved cage fabricated. Then you will have a proper cage you can use on the track when you will want to put the mk1 on a track, and one that could save your life if you were to have a crash on a public street rather than a PVC pipe or exhaust tubing plowing through your back

[gldgti]

With cages and Cams, anyone can build a cage for a race car, but you need to use the correct "roll cage tube" (which many motor racing fools will tell you is very special). Consequently, cages don't come cheap because on a steel basis, the stuff is mighty expensive. Add to that the fact that to make a good cage, you need to be a decent welder, fabricator and have an idea about how these things are done - and it takes a lot of hours to do it right.

Once a cage is in and painted, its pretty hard to check that its made out of "roll cage tube" anyway, and I'm sure that there are plenty of cars out there that have cages made from other materials - but thats really besides the point I guess.

Save your money, forget the cage and get some good brakes or something.

[Peter Jones]

With cages and Cams, anyone can build a cage for a race car, but you need to use the correct "roll cage tube" (which many motor racing fools will tell you is very special).

Being a motor racing fool, I'll explain,

Normal round tube is made by taking a flat rectangular piece of steel and bending it into a round tube and welding the join together.

This creates a seam along the length of the pipe which is where the tube will split open in an impact.

Roll cages have to be made from seamless tube which is made in one piece without a seam, it's behaviour under deformation is much more predictable.

Along with making it out of the right stuff the cage dynamics are actually mathematically modelled and in some cases copies of the cage are made and destructively tested in a hydraulic jig.

[gldgti]

Yeah I know Pete, but you can still buy seamless tube/pipe that cams wont pass for a cage, because the paperwork isn't there for it, not for any technical reason.

You are not a motor racing fool - but I'm sure you'd agree, there are people in motor racing (as in anything) who are fools.

I don't doubt that mass produced cages for particular vehicles are researched and tested, but the majority of Sunday racers cars are definitely not - nor, do they really need to be, if the person that builds it has some experience and good common sense. I'd be very impressed if you could point me at someones car they've built where they did any kind of FEA or hand calcs on the cage in it.

[mikinoz]

Save your money, forget the cage and get some good brakes or something.

I think that is a great piece of advice mate.

I'd also check the regs in Transport Tas if you are proceeding as they have a few things to say about cages that you will need to comply with.

[straight_fresh]

European cage regs for road and race are very different to those here and there's a wide variety of quite acceptable (to Europe) bolt-in cages.

yeh but somehow i dont think the guys with chromed gearboxes and polished carb linkages are tremedously concerned with how theyre colour coded or equally chromed roll cage is going to perform when there car is upside down in a sand trap, if it ever made it within 50k's of a legitimate track meet.... he wants a show cage cos they look cool /