The problem with leaving any openings is the possibility of water, dirt, and especially salt getting into places it can't drain. Then the rust gremlins get busy! Don't count on body filler making those places leakproof.
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!