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I fitted the cheap Brazilian pans to our '03 for two reasons:
1) They were very easy to get.
2) I saw no advantage in the extra weight of the 18g ones since the pans don't contribute very much at all to the o/a strength.
In respect of the roll cage - A 4 point cage is next to useless IMO and the minimum should be 6 point but better still multi-point. If you fit a cage then it should contribute to the overall stiffness of the shell and therefore ought to be welded or at least connected to the shell at various additional points such as halfway up and at the top of the A and B pillars. The bodyshell is actually quite good as a torsional member that will resist impacts so rather than relying on the cage on its own in this respect it is better to use the cage and the shell as a single integrated unit. As the beetle body is bolted onto the floor pan I would weld the cage legs to the upper shell (heater channels) and bolt roll cage to the floor with spreader plates.
Clive
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