Just replaced both heater hoses on my "95, Olds 88. The in line restrictor on the heater hose has a pinhole in it. Can I just delete it and put a barb coupler in its place? Looking at a 1600 mile road trip this week and dont want to create any problems by removing the restrictor.

I don't see why it wouldn't hurt to remove it. Sole purpose is to just restrict the flow of coolant to the heater core? Don't know why.