to cut or not to cut?

[cranknut67]

I have a set of thorley headers that I wanted to install in my '67 but there is a crossmember in the way - I have looked at other trucks in the same year range but they don't seem to have this same crossmember... it is between the main front crossmember and the transmission crossmember and sits in the way of the torque converter directly underneath it.

I took out the manual trans when i first got the truck for an automatic, and don't expect to re-install a manual any time in the forseeable future. would it hurt it to cut this crossmember out of the way?