Quote:
Originally Posted by redneck
Personally I wouldn't.
By leaving the hatch intact, you haven't changed the way the vehicle will respond if involved in a crash. Remember, Big money was spent to pass safety tests in order to keep you safe. 
Anything less than a full roll cage in lieu of the hatch would be unsafe at best...
In my opinion.
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If you design the boattail properly, the huge gain in rear crush space more than compensates for the slight reduction in roll cage strength resulting from removing the hatch structure. I know, since mine has been crash tested and passed with flying colors (my boattail completely absorbed the energies of the high speed rear end crash and the crash damage never reached the OEM bumpers still in place under the boattail structure).