Sam and Aggie, you both have different factory setups from his '84 - what you two (and me for that matter) achieve with the dryer ducting he has as an OEM equipment. Kenneth however is onto something - that plate does kill the ram-air effect, so removing it would help airflow for sure. Be aware, however, that if you're fording some waters and get a nice and high wake in front of the truck, that water may get pushed at the inlet that plate normally covers, and you can use your imagination for the results of that. IIRC '83 trucks didn't have that plate, but for '84 or '85 Ford decided to add it cause of said water issue.