I will tell you something I found in one of similar construction that I attempted to restore for outside use under my deck as an emergency stove. The removable/lift out cooktop sits below the top of those side panels because it is recessed and if the previous owner was not meticulous about cleaning, grease and shmutz ran down those side walls into which the cooktop was recessed and grease and shmutz not only accumulated in the pan forming the bottom of the burner box below it but kept running down the side wall of the range past the burner box to who knows where because there was not a sealed seam where the side wall met the pan that formed the base of the burner box. Unfortunately the pan was not porcelainized so there was rust below the grease and shmutz. Unless there is a seamless construction, having this type of a recessed cooktop is asking for a lot of maintenance or trouble.