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Home Made Roll Cage Jan 2004

Usually we would fit Safety Devices or OMP cages to our cars which cost around £300. In this instance , as the car is not for racing, I decided to build one. This does not mean it needs to be of inferior quality though.

The Opel Manta Owners Club Ireland     www.manta400.com

By Nelson Stewart

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First I borrowed a hydraulic pipe bender and purchased some inch and a half seamless tubing which came in around £2 per metre. Then Steve kindly let me borrow his OMP cage to use as a template.

After measuring the bends from steves cage it took around an hour to make the main hoop part of the rear cage. Using quarter steel plate the feet and brackets where made and M12 nuts were welded into the ends of the tube to allow fixing of rose joints so I could stress the cage when fitted to the car.

Having finished the rear of the cage, this is how it looks fitted. Just a nice sparco sticker to finish it off and then the front can be made. You’ll notice the differences from the OMP cage in that there is a gap between the diagonal bar and the side bar. This is to allow the metal framed rear seat to fit in without dismantling the cage. This cage is also made of slightly heavier steel to suit the former I had. The total cost of this build was £30 including paint, though the nuts, bolts etc. I had lying around.

Nelson