Should I leave the heater box out?

I bought mine locally from 1-800-radiator for $63. We buy a lot of stuff from at work. The core itself was good, but the lines were pointed in different directions and were not parrallel to each other. I had to stick a 3/8 extension in them and bend them true. Otherwise life is good. I have a friend in town that owns a radiator shop and I am going to have him fix the old one just so I have it.