Dougs

I'm sure I missed the obvious somewhere here, but I'm a new user of Dougs. Oh boy. I made the mistake of trusting someone who came to us on this site to sell out their Mopar stuff. I bought a set of Dougs for a small block that supposedly had not been modified. The driver's side front tube is cut and fits inside the tube, guessing so adjustnents can be made. Do you weld this after fitment or strap it so it doesn't leak? Gasket base brace is cut there as well. Is this all normal or did I get ripped off? My experience with Cheverolet and Fords when it came to header application was pretty simple, but now I find myself back to my first love for Mopars and mighty small blocks. Before I pull the 318 out of my '69 Dart I need to decide if it's worth the fight before I drop in my home grown big block stroker. But that may be some time later in the future.