The 3 Best Roll Cages For Your Ford Cortina Mk1
Roll cage guide, Ford Cortina Mk1
There are three cages worth putting on a shortlist for a Cortina Mk1, and they are not really competing with each other. One is a configurable bolt-in that leaves the interior alone, one is a bolt-in built to satisfy regulations that restrict how a cage may attach, and one is a weld-in historic kit for a car being built to compete seriously.
Pick on how the car is used and how the car is registered, in that order. The money follows from that, and it ranges from about £869 to a shade over £1,800.
- Two of the three bolt in, one welds in, and that is the first decision
- Safety Devices F003 from £868.80, in six different configurations
- Sparco 00723165 at £884.47, and it attaches by its six feet alone
- Custom Cages T45 historic kit at £1,818.30, weld-in, 30kg
- The Custom Cages kit is listed for the Lotus Cortina Mk1, so confirm your car with us first
- All three are steel. None of them include the seat, harness or padding
The decision that comes before the brand
A bolt-in cage attaches through mounting feet onto reinforcement plates. It can come out again, it does not need a shell stripped to bare metal, and on a car with an interior worth keeping that matters. A weld-in cage is welded to the shell, fits closer, and is what a car built for serious competition usually gets.
Both are permitted. Motorsport UK and the FIA both set out bolted mounting feet in their own texts, so anybody who tells you bolt-in cages are simply not allowed is repeating something they have not checked. What is true is that individual championships write their own regulations on top, so check the rules for the series you intend to enter before you spend anything.
Safety Devices F003: the one that leaves your interior alone
This is the cage we sell most for the car, and the reason is in one line of its specification: it clears the standard trim and dashboard. On a Cortina Mk1 that is worth a great deal, because most of these cars are not stripped shells. They are road-registered historics that get used, and an owner who wants protection without gutting the cabin has exactly one sensible route.
It is a six-point bolt-in that mounts to the floor and to the rear wheel arches, and it arrives black powder coated as standard, with grey, blue, silver, white and red available at a surcharge. Our listing states it is MSA and FIA homologated under Certificate 247. MSA is the old name for Motorsport UK, so that is a long-standing certification, not a new one.
What makes it the most flexible of the three is that you configure it. There are six versions of the same cage, and the price moves with what you specify.
| Configuration | Price inc VAT |
|---|---|
| Single fixed diagonal | £868.80 |
| Single fixed diagonal and harness bar | £975.60 |
| Cross diagonal and harness bar | £1,048.80 |
| Single fixed diagonal with door bars | £1,058.40 |
| Single fixed diagonal and harness bar with door bars | £1,165.20 |
| Cross diagonal and harness bar with door bars | £1,238.40 |
All six are the same F003 cage. Door bars are the universal 38/38mm type, one per side.
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From £868.80 Incl. VATPayPal CreditMade to orderKlarna ReadySelect options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
There is also a rear-only version at £507.60 inc VAT, which fits without the front hoop. That is the option for a car doing sprints, hillclimbs or track days where a full cage is not required and you want a harness bar and rollover protection behind you. It is the cheapest way into proper protection on this car by a distance.
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From £507.60 Incl. VATPayPal CreditMade to orderKlarna ReadySelect options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
Sparco 00723165: the one that attaches by its feet alone
On paper this looks like the same product as the Safety Devices cage at almost the same money, and it is not. The distinguishing feature is how it attaches: the cage picks up on its six feet with no other attachment to the body shell at all. Sparco build it that way deliberately, because some race and rally regulations do not permit multi-point cages, and a cage that touches the shell in more places than its feet falls foul of them.
If that describes the class you run in, this is not a preference, it is the answer. If it does not, the feature costs you nothing anyway.
- £884.47 inc VAT, part 00723165
- E255 (FE45) cold drawn seamless steel tube
- Main rollover hoop 50mm diameter x 2mm wall
- Other tubes 50mm x 2mm or 40mm x 2mm depending on homologation type
- 26kg, six fixing points, FIA Appendix J homologation
- Covers the Mk1 and the Mk2, 1962 to 1970
- Door bars and a mounting kit are included in the price
- Supplied unpainted, so budget for finishing it
Custom Cages T45 historic kit: the one for a car being built to compete
This is a different class of product and the price says so. It is a weld-in kit in T45 tube, made for international historic competition, and Custom Cages certificate it to FIA Appendix K, which is the regulation set historic cars are prepared under.
A weld-in cage fits closer to the shell than a bolt-in can, which is worth having when a cage is doing a structural job as well as a protective one. The trade is that fitting it is a proper job: the tubes arrive CNC laser profiled and CNC bent, with footplates, a checklist and instructions, and then somebody competent welds it into your car. That is not a driveway afternoon.
- £1,818.30 inc VAT, part LC/99T
- Weld-in kit in T45 tube, 30kg
- Sill bar and single door bar for side impact, plus hoop lateral tube and dash bar
- Crossed door bars available as an option, so ask if you want them
- All tubes CNC laser profiled and CNC bent, with footplates and a checklist
- Custom Cages certificate it to FIA Appendix K and quote a 700 MPa minimum tensile for the tube
- Listed for the Lotus Cortina Mk1
The three compared
| Safety Devices F003 | Sparco 00723165 | Custom Cages LC/99T | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fitting | Bolt-in | Bolt-in | Weld-in |
| Fixing points | Six, floor and rear arches | Six feet, nothing else | Welded to the shell |
| Material | Steel | E255 (FE45) steel | T45 |
| Weight | Not published | 26kg | 30kg |
| Finish | Black powder coat | Unpainted | Unpainted kit |
| Door bars | Optional extra | Included | Sill and single door bar included |
| Clears standard trim | Yes, stated | Not stated | No, it is a close-fitting kit |
| Listed for | Cortina Mk1 | Cortina Mk1 and Mk2 | Lotus Cortina Mk1 |
| Price inc VAT | From £868.80 | £884.47 | £1,818.30 |
Prices on the day of writing. The Safety Devices figure is the entry configuration.
What the regulations actually say
There is a lot of confident nonsense written about cage regulations, so here is the part that is worth knowing, taken from the current rulebooks themselves.
Padding is not optional at FIA events
FIA Appendix J makes FIA 8857-2001 Type A padding compulsory on the tubes the drawing identifies. Motorsport UK’s national regulations are softer: padding "should" be fitted, and homologated material within 150mm of the helmet is "recommended". Your championship may be stricter than either.
Bolted feet are permitted
Both rulebooks set out bolted mounting feet with reinforcement plates welded to the shell. Bolt-in is a legitimate construction, not a compromise. Individual series can still require weld-in, so read your own regulations.
Certified means do not touch
Once a cage is homologated or certified, modifying it voids that status, and machining or welding counts. Motorsport UK name the only permitted additions, and accident damage goes back to the maker, never to a local welder.
Common questions
Can I fit any of these myself?
The two bolt-in cages, realistically yes, if you are competent and you do the mounting plates properly. The Custom Cages kit needs welding into the shell and that should go to somebody who does it regularly. Getting a weld-in cage slightly wrong is expensive in a way that bolt-in is not.
Is the T45 cage stronger than the steel ones?
T45 is a high tensile British tube specification and Custom Cages quote a 700 MPa minimum tensile strength for it. What we will not tell you is that any rulebook requires it, because it does not: the letters T45 do not appear in FIA Appendix J or the Motorsport UK regulations at all. Buy it because it is the right cage for historic competition, not because somebody told you a rule demands the material.
Which one do I need for road use?
The Safety Devices cage, and quite possibly the rear-only version of it. It clears the standard trim and dashboard, it comes painted, and it bolts in. If the car keeps its interior and its number plate, that is the one.
Do any of them include padding?
No, none of the three. Padding is bought separately, and at an FIA event the specification is not a matter of taste: Appendix J calls for FIA 8857-2001 Type A. Tell us where you are competing and we will get the right stuff on the order.
What is the difference between the two Custom Cages Cortina listings?
Custom Cages list two part codes for this car, LC/99T and FLC/99T, at the same price and with what reads as the same specification. We list both because they list both. If you are ordering, ring us and we will confirm which code your car should be built to, so you are not guessing.
Will a Mk2 cage fit my Mk1?
Not the Safety Devices one, which is a separate part number for each. The Sparco cage is the exception: one part covers the Mk1 and the Mk2 across 1962 to 1970, which is genuinely useful if you have both.
What we would actually fit
For most Cortina Mk1s on our books, the Safety Devices F003 with the cross diagonal and harness bar at £1,048.80. It keeps the car usable, it arrives painted, the certification is long established, and you can add door bars later if the car gets more serious. Cameron specs that combination more than any other on this model.
If your class restricts how the cage attaches, the Sparco is the one and there is not much to debate. And if you are building a genuine historic to Appendix K, Garreth would have the Custom Cages kit welded in and not think twice, provided we have confirmed the fit for your particular shell first. Ring the showroom on 0115 9893488 with what the car is and what you intend to do with it, and we will point you at one of the three in about two minutes.
