GM-GMC: What are throttle bodies; and safe removal., port fuel injection, ford rs2000

Question
Hiya - please presume in your answer that I know little about cars (which, sadly, is the case.)

I will shortly own a 1998 UK Ford Escort Estate.  It has had the original engine removed, and replaced by a Ford RS2000 engine.  To achieve the 200 HP various measures have been taken.  Throttle bodies have been added, and are placed at the rear of the engine bay, just before the wiper arms.  To deal with the heat, the bonnet is on spacers, so that the rear of the hood sits maybe three inches above it's normal level.  Can you please tell me - what are throttle bodies?  Why would they have been added?  Can I safely and easily remove them?  NB: the engine is normally aspirated - no chargers/turbo.

Thanks

    Duncan

Answer
Duncan,

You did not say which country you will operate the vehicle in and so I cannot answer based on emission controls.

A throttle body is used with single port fuel injection.  Think of it as an electronic carburetor.  The throttle butterfly controls the amount of air, and is connected to the accelerator pedal, and a computer determines how much fuel to send into the intake manifold along with the air.

Throttle body injection will permit higher power to be obtained from an engine than a carburetor.  Throttle body injection will also permit the vehicle to meet emission standards in the USA when a carburetor will not.

If you remove the throttle bodies, the vehicle will not run unless some other method of adding fuel to air is provided.