RSF/ardent hf65r

We recently bought a home in BC that we hope to be moving to with a year, it has what appears to be a old Ardent/RSF hf-65r (picture included), please correct me if i am wrong. The house was built in 1975, i dont know if thr stove is from the same time period. I've tried contacting a dealer with my questions so here I am. Also as s side note we are new to wood stoves, so please forgive my ignorance, I am here to learn.

1) does it use fire bricks on the bottom? It appears the ash is sitting right on the bottom of the stove. Any other fire bricks required? There doesn't appear to be any inside.

2) it is missing a side panel, anyone know where I can get a new one?

I'm sure i will have more questions and am excited to learn on this forum.

Thanks for any help!

O

I do agree and will be replacing this stove (depending on what the inspector says i may not), but for now that is not an option quite yet. I just want this stove to perform well and up to its potential for the time being.

It's not real clear (to me at least), would the bricks be lined around the outside wall in the firebox? Also, any laying on the bottom of the Firefox or is it just ash?

Thanks again

Also, is it possible to get a new side panel?

Thanks, I'm waiting to hear back from the dealer.