The definitive Vauxhall Chevette roll cage guide for single venue stage rallying
Roll cages
The question that produced this page came from a customer building exactly this car: a Chevette intended for single venue stage use. It is a good question, because the phrase single venue sounds like it should soften the cage requirement, and it does not. In the Motorsport UK rulebook a single venue stage rally is defined by how the stages are used, not by what the car needs. The cage specification is identical to a forest round.
Thirteen cages cover this shell and its Opel sisters between them, ten bolt-in from Safety Devices and three weld-in kits from Custom Cages, and the range hides a genuine surprise: the cheapest weld-in kit costs less than the cheapest bolt-in full cage.
- Thirteen cages cover the Chevette and its Kadett C sisters, from £507.60 to £1,854 inc VAT
- Stage rallying requires the full cage with door bars both sides, single venue events included
- The cheapest weld-in kit, at £834, undercuts the cheapest bolt-in full cage at £867.60
- Even a bolt-in cage needs its mounting plates welded to the shell for stage rally use

What single venue stage rallying asks of the cage
The current rulebook is the Motorsport UK National Competition Rules 2026, and the stage rally vehicle regulations sit in Chapter 13 Appendix 16. Article 12.1 requires every special stage rally car to carry, as a minimum, a rollover protection system built to the full six point cage drawings in Chapter 7, with longitudinal door bars on both sides of the car. Backstays and at least one diagonal across the main hoop are part of that same minimum.
A single venue stage rally is simply a stage rally that reuses parts of its stages more than four times in a day. That is an organisational definition. Nothing in it changes the vehicle requirement, and even a rally time trial on a four mile airfield stage requires full stage rally vehicle compliance.
- A full six point cage built to the Chapter 7 drawings is the minimum for any stage rally car
- Longitudinal door bars on both sides are mandatory for stage rallying, not optional
- Backstays and at least one diagonal on the main hoop are required members
- Bolt-in cages are accepted, and their reinforcement plates must be welded to the bodyshell
Every Chevette cage we hold, at a glance
Thirteen cages across three families: the Safety Devices bolt-ins for the Chevette and the Kadett C, the Safety Devices coupe range, and the Custom Cages weld-in kits. Every Safety Devices cage here is steel and cut for its own shell, and every listing cross-lists the Chevette and the Kadett C because the two cars share one platform underneath.
| Car | Part number | Cage | Price | Listed approval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevette, all body styles | O006 | 6 point bolt-in | £867.60 | FIA and MSA approved |
| Chevette, all body styles | O006-Rear | Bolt-in rear | £507.60 | FIA and MSA approved |
| Kadett C | O001 | 6 point bolt-in | £867.60 | FIA and MSA approved |
| Kadett C | O001 - Rear | Bolt-in rear | £507.60 | FIA and MSA approved |
| Coupe shell | O004-1 | 6 point bolt-in, universal door bars | £878.40 | FIA and MSA approved |
| Coupe shell | RBO004 5SSS | Bolt-in rear, universal door bars | £518.40 | FIA and MSA approved |
| Coupe shell | O004-2 | 6 point bolt-in, single door bars | £1,008 | FIA and MSA approved |
| Coupe shell | O004-2-Rear | Bolt-in rear, single door bars | £625.20 | FIA and MSA approved |
| Coupe shell | O004-3 | 6 point bolt-in, cross door bars | £1,170 | FIA and MSA approved |
| Coupe shell | O004-3-Rear | Bolt-in rear, cross door bars | £764.40 | FIA and MSA approved |
| Chevette | CC Clubman CDS | 6 point weld-in kit, CDS | £834 | MSUK compliant |
| Chevette | CC Multipoint CDS | Multipoint weld-in kit, CDS | £1,380 | MSUK compliant |
| Chevette | CC Multipoint T45 | Multipoint weld-in kit, T45 | £1,854 | MSUK compliant |
Prices include VAT and are what the listings show today, so they can move. The approval column is what each individual listing states rather than our own assessment. Check it against the regulations for your own event before ordering.
The stage rally answer: the weld-in kits
For a car being built for stage use, the Custom Cages weld-in kits are where we would start the conversation, and the pricing makes that an easy argument. The 6 point Clubman CDS kit is £834 including VAT, which is £33.60 less than the cheapest bolt-in full cage on this page. It arrives as laser cut and end formed CDS tube with the footplates, gussets, crossed door bars, harness tubes for both seats, a weld test sample, a unique identification plaque and the declaration paperwork, which is the certification trail a scrutineer wants to see with a welded cage.
The Multipoint CDS kit at £1,380 is designed to FIA minimum specification and adds the tunnel brace and triangulation into the front struts, which is the version to buy if the car may ever run beyond club level. The T45 kit at £1,854 is the same design in stronger, lighter tube, and on a car as small as a Chevette the weight saved sits high in the shell where it is most worth removing.
A weld-in kit needs a fabricator, and the labour is the part people struggle to budget for. We published the researched numbers separately in our roll cage fitting cost guide: expect 10 to 20 hours to weld a supplied kit into a stripped shell.
The bolt-in cages, and the jobs they suit
The five Safety Devices full cages are all steel six point bolt-ins, listed FIA and MSA approved, and they carry design options that decide what the cage can do: single fixed diagonal at the entry point, then harness bars, cross diagonals and door bars as you move up. For a road car, a track day build or a historic that needs to stay reversible, this is the sensible end of the range.
For stage use, two things matter at the point of ordering. The car needs the door bar version, on both sides, because stage rally regulations make door bars mandatory. And bolt-in is not the same as weld-free: the rules require each foot to sit on a steel reinforcement plate welded to the bodyshell, so a welder is part of the install either way.
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From £867.60 Incl. VATFrom £723.00 Excl. VAT Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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From £867.60 Incl. VATFrom £723.00 Excl. VAT Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
The coupe cages are the Kadett connection
Here is the detail in this range that explains itself once you know the history. The Chevette was Vauxhall’s version of the Kadett C, both of them GM T-car designs, which is why every cage on this page lists both cars. But the Chevette itself was never sold as a coupe. The coupe was the one Kadett C body style Vauxhall did not take, so the three coupe cage families here, from the universal door bar version at £878.40 up to the cross door bar version at £1,170, are bought for Kadett C Coupe shells.
The rally history runs through the same platform. The Chevette HS was Vauxhall’s first homologation special, and Pentti Airikkala took the 1979 British Rally Championship drivers title in one, so a caged Chevette is not a novelty build. It is a car returning to its old job.
The rear cages, and where they belong
The five rear cages are the main hoop, backstays and the bracing behind the seats, leaving the dashboard and A pillars standard. That makes them the right answer for a road car that wants harness anchorages and rollover protection while staying civilised, and for track day builds. A stage rally build needs the full cage from the start, so on a car headed for stages the rear cage money is better put towards one of the kits above.
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From £507.60 Incl. VATFrom £423.00 Excl. VAT Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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From £507.60 Incl. VATFrom £423.00 Excl. VAT Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
Bolt-in or weld-in for this car
The regulations decide most of it, and the rest is about what the car is for.
Bolt-in
Mounts on spreader plates through the floor and sills. No welding, nothing permanent, and it can come back out if the car is sold on standard. This is what most road and track day cars run.
Weld-in
Welded straight to the shell, which gives a stiffer car and a better load path into the structure. It wants a motorsport fabricator and the interior usually has to come out. Permanent once it is in.
- Non-homologated stage cages must be CDS tube at 45x2.5mm or 50x2.0mm with 350 N/mm² minimum yield
- Designs approved before 1995 may run 38x2.5mm or 40x2.0mm tube, which is how the classic bolt-in designs stay eligible
- Scrutineers accept three routes: a cage built to the published specification, a Motorsport UK ROPS certificate, or FIA homologation papers
- A Chevette running as a historic rally car follows its own cage appendix, so tell us if the car has or wants an FIA HTP
For a Chevette built for single venue stage rallying, the Multipoint CDS kit is the one we would order, and the Clubman CDS is the value answer if the budget is tight. Cameron matches cages to entries here, so send over what you plan to enter and whether the shell is a Chevette or a Kadett, and you will get a part number back rather than a list.
The harness the cage is there to anchor
Stage rally cars run full harnesses, and the harness tubes in these cages exist to anchor the shoulder straps at the right height and angle. A lap and diagonal belt bolted to 1970s floor mounts cannot do that job, so budget the harnesses alongside the cage rather than after it.
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From £444.01 Incl. VATFrom £370.01 Excl. VAT Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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From £294.00 Incl. VATFrom £245.00 Excl. VAT Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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From £246.00 Incl. VATFrom £205.00 Excl. VAT Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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Common questions
Does a single venue event accept a smaller cage?
No. Single venue describes how the stages are laid out, not the car. The vehicle regulations are the same Chapter 13 Appendix 16 requirement as a multi venue stage rally: full cage, door bars both sides, diagonal and backstays.
Are the bolt-in cages legal for stage rallying?
Bolt-in construction is accepted, with two conditions worth planning for. The mounting plates must be welded to the bodyshell, and the cage needs to meet the current specification or carry recognised approval. Each listing here states what it carries, and we will check a specific cage against a specific championship before you order.
Can I start with a rear cage and upgrade to a full cage later?
A rear cage suits a road or track day build well, but stage rallying needs the full cage from the first event, and a rear cage plus a full cage later costs more than the full cage bought once. If stages are the plan, start with the stage answer.
What about a Chevette HS or a historic build?
Historic stage rally cars run their own cage appendix, and a car with an FIA Historic Technical Passport must match the cage specified in its papers. That decision changes which cage is right, so tell us the age of the shell and whether an HTP exists or is planned before ordering.
What paperwork will a scrutineer want with the cage?
One of three things: a cage built to the published Motorsport UK specification, which the scrutineer checks directly, a Motorsport UK ROPS certificate with its identification plate on the cage, or FIA homologation papers. The Custom Cages kits ship with the weld test sample, identification plaque and declaration forms that support certification.
Do the Kadett C cages fit a Chevette?
The two cars share the GM T-car platform and every Safety Devices listing here names both. What changes the answer is the body style, because the coupe is a Kadett-only shell. Send the registration and we will confirm the part number.
What will fitting cost on top?
For a weld-in kit into a stripped shell, the researched range is 10 to 20 hours of fabricator time. The full numbers, including what bolt-in installs and welded plates cost, are in our roll cage fitting cost guide linked above.
Should I pad the cage?
Yes, anywhere a helmet can reach, and stage rally scrutineering expects it. We do not stock FIA rated roll bar padding at the moment, so source it alongside the cage and plan where it goes while the cage is being fitted.
Where to go next
The Safety Devices cages for these cars sit in Safety Devices Vauxhall Opel roll cages and the weld-in kits in Custom Cages. The whole catalogue, over 1,500 cages, is in roll cages. If the car is not a Chevette, ask anyway. Both brands build for a long list of shells and we can check what exists for yours.











