You can see how the piping was designed to fit around the fan. There's plenty of room now, but when the fans and AC were still there it was a mess.
Here's where the piping goes through the radiator support on the engine bay side:
... and here's a shot from the front (taken between the grill and radiator support):
I also found an old picture that shows where the support is cut. Now that I think more about it, going through the support where I did would only work with a small intercooler like this one.
