Cage question from NEPA

Hey guys, we're new to Lemons and have a question about the cage. The guy who sold us our car (98 golf) says he has a cage that he can sell us as well once he finds it. He has one by the same maker in his MKII GTI and looking at it, I noticed its gapped out from the chassis in a few places - i.e. parts of the main hoop are 3-4" away from the b-pillar. I imagine the cage for our golf is rather similar. I am concerned because I know it's not cool to have the cage too far away from the chassis, but obviously building it closer to the body requires more effort on the install. My question is, exactly how close does the cage have to be in places it hugs the chassis (particularly the main hoop and the downtubes along the a-pillars)? We spectated at nelson ledges this year and saw a team fail tech due to their cage being too far from the chassis. Granted, that was a cage from their Laser that was swapped into a neon or something, and I'm not sure how much of a gap there was, but I want to make sure we build it right. I'm not sure if what he has is even acceptable (tubing dia/wall thickness/layout), but the gapping from the chassis matters regardless of where we get the cage.

Also, is there anyone in PA or an adjoining state (car is in Williamsport, PA, center of the state) that does good, reasonably-priced cages? We want something good, but would prefer not to spend $2k for it. Thanks!