Paul, the rocker boxes are structual support to the body which means they should be strong. I would power wire brush any loose stuff, then spray with rust prep, then either spray and/or brush POR15 or similar. If you decide to remove them, you could create a unnoticeable sag in body in the process!! Make sure you keep your hardtop bolted on for alignment purposes. If the rust is light scale, I would not remove but clean and treat. My .02---Huck
