Removing GM parking brake

I'm swapping out rear ends and decided to take this time to remove the parking brake setup on the calipers, since the cable has long since been removed.

Can I remove the entire thing, or does the "lever" (red arrow 2nd picture) need to remain so the piston doesn't retract too far away from the rotor?

http://www.fototime.com/C7BDF73F6B62C98/standard.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/849E9081F68AB65/standard.jpg

I removed the lever. I have never had one on my CMC cars.

Thanks for the quick response. The spring looked like it was going to be a PITA to get off, which would mean it'd be even more of a pain to get back on if needed. It's all gone now.

You already have the answer, but yes just remove it all.