Long stiffening kit with cage, Is it necessary? Options

[ThePaintedMan]

Sorry for the back-to-back posts. Well its almost time to button up the passenger long after all of the work from the past two months. I read all of the comments regarding the Engman kit, and being the CSOB I am, I made my own version, which turned out pretty well. However, I'm at a crossroads of sorts. First, I was not planning on closing the outside of the long until I welded in the stiffening kit on the inside, mostly because I wanted to be able to go back afterward and rustproof/paint all of the welds on the inside, since the POR thats on there will be melted away. Then I thought, with the problems people already have with door gaps and the Engman kits, maybe I would be inviting disaster by trying to weld on the inside without the outside clamshell in place. Finally, this car will be getting a full cage at some point anyway for use in Chumpcar. If its properly constructed, will this negate any benefits of stiffening the longs anyway? Again, sorry for being a post whore and always, thanks for your input!