Question re. Grille work

[MATBird]

I am a fairly recent owner and while cleaning the egg crate grille up front I noticed the the bottom two rows of the grille are blocked by black Styrofoam. I looked at another T-Bird that was parked at a dealer and it had the same setup.
Does anyone know why this is there? Just curious.:rolleyes:

[5bird7]

I think it's part of the bumper safety crash test regulations.

[Blue Heaven]

It also gives rigidity to the grille under speed. Do not remove it! :nono:

[FordMan7]

I noticed the same thing - It appears that it may direct the "upper" air flow to the air cleaner intake and the "lower" air flow to the radiator. If my quess is correct - that means the t-birds have a quasi-ram air induction system. :puzzled:

My only fear is what happens when that styrofoam turns gray and can not be repainted black without disolving.....:bawl:

FordMan7:fordsrule: