Fusible links in a factory engine harness, are they necessary?

I am currently in the process of cleaning up the engine harness for my challenge car. Engine/harness is from an 87 or 88 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. There are a few fusible links scattered throughout the harness, so my question is are they really necessary? They seem like they would be hard to recognize if they've failed, and they add a lot of bulk. Is there any reason not to get rid of them? 

I also remember there being a similar item somewhere in the harness that said it was a resistor.

Perhaps it will be easier to determine what is necessary once I map out exactly where in the harness they are. 

Actually, here's a picture of one...

Fires. That is why you want them.

They are slightly hard to diagnose if you blow them, but they are generally like 100 amps or something protecting a circuit that doesn't go through the fuse box (like the starter or alternator to battery). 

You do not want a 100+ amp short happening for any period of time. If they are already there and engineered in, I'd keep em.

Yeah.  Fire.  Fire bad.  If you want to lose the fusible link, you can add a big ass fuse somewhere else, but you don't want no protection.

can they be replaced with an appropriately sized fuse? my 87 300zx has 3 or 4 of them for things like ignition, power windows, and some other things like that. I know fuseable likes like these are made to be 'slow burn' vs. a standard fuse that will just pop but will it hurt anything to be replaced with a standard fuse?

My understanding of them is that they can handle spikes in current without blowing, but will slow burn if under constant high amperage.  Quick blow fuses, as they are named, will blow if pushed above their spec.  Even if just momentarily.

I would think a circuit breaker would be a better replacement just for the ease of resetting if those spikes happen.

I would leave them unless the item at the other end of the circuit is removed, then remove all the wiring to the power distribution.

Swapping a fusable link for an inline fuse of an equivalent current capacity can make sense. Deleting them is like deleting fuses - a fire hazard.

Yeah so.... My memory was incorrect. There are no fusible links in this part of the harness, only the part that has already been deleted. I guess I jumped the gun on posting.