Vannin' Home Forums General Discussion Upholstery and Interior mods Chevy G10 rear corners

I'm sure this issue comes up a lot when doing the interior of a Chevy van but I couldn't find any actual discussion - what the hell do you do with the rear corners?

Getting around the gas-fill channel isn't an issue but are these steel braces behind the wheel wells just here to protect the taillight from cargo and hold the spare tire? Are they structural at all or can they be cut out to make the side walls play nicely with the back wall? Every custom Chevy van I see has nicely-joined rear corners so they must be able to come out...right? Removing them would sure make my life a lot easier.