That's where mine was. In the middle of a fricken bend. I wasn't about to cut into the new hose I bought at the time. Like I said tho, I haven't had any problems leaving it out.

Although, -I've heard in the past that the restrictor may prevent sudden burst pressure into the core itself. - By slowing down the flow enough to make that difference. I can't confirm that either way.

I am curious tho. What does Ford give you within a factory hose purchase? Do they come with a restrictor implant or what?

I purchased Car-Quest hoses and then purchase a set of heater core hard-line connectors from Rock Auto. They mimic the Ford conectors right at the Hose/core connection, - but better IMO. I needed two different sizes if I recall.