NS inner wing gap

Still sussing out what is missing from the box of bits i'm rebuilding.

Should there be a gap at the back of my inner wing between the wing and the mud shield on Near Side?
Looks like there should be a make-up piece similar to the steering box cover on the Off Side, but I haven't got one and can't find a reference to one anywhere.

The gap is where the chassis upright extension plate is and looks like it will let mud in over the back of the engine etc.

Mine is the type with the exhaust running inboard of the chassis.

:nopics:

Probably not helpful but mine has a hole there because my exhaust exits there (straight 6).

Yes, so on mine it is a standard wing but no hole for the exhaust (not required for the inboard exhaust), but looking at your photo you can see the chassis upright immediately behind the exhaust and the wing end bolts to the bottom of this.
The standard mud shield that bolts to the foot-well falls short of this, so the gap is between the mudshield and the wing end/chassis upright.

I'm not aware of a gap on mine (exhaust inbound of the wing).

When fitting the mud shield back it's worth using 2-3 washers on each of the four fixing bolts to create a drainage gap and avoid a dirt / mud / corrosion trap between bulkhead footwell and bottom of shield.

I take that back - double checked and there is in fact a gap in the said place

Ahh right....so it is meant to be there then.

Think I'm tempted to make a little bolt on cover panel out of ally though to keep the muck out.

Already packed the mud shields off the foot-well thanks. Thought it seemed a good idea to do that.
I also sealed up all the footwell seams with seam sealer to keep the moisture out, so hopefully it's getting as good a chance as it can to keep the rust at bay.