Shock crossmember

[dodj]

I was scraping undercoat and rust out from the back half of the car today and while the undercoating did it's job in most areas, it didn't do so well on the shock crossmember. Is it just attached to the two frame rails? Is it spot welded to the trunk floor at all?
I have the rear end, springs, gas tank and lines out of the car so it would be a good time to change it I guess. Would I have to brace anything before I cut it out?
 

[mopardave]

if the trunk floor and or the under seat pan is cut out then I would just to be on the safe side. other wise the flooring welded to the rail should be sufficiant. either way it wont hurt

[A R T]

The shock crossmember does not attach to any of the floor or trunk sheetmetal. If you have all the sheetmetal cut away, its a good time to replace it. Its a good idea to tack weld a couple of lateral supports to keep things aligned before you remove the existing one, it will help you when its time to install the new crossmember.