I have a crusty set which I'd be happy to send them to try out if they would rather dismantle and investigate for themselves. I kept them for exactly this purpose since they would need to know the angles at which the various unions are attached to the pipe so they could replicate them. If the angles are wrong it'll either be impossible to assemble or the hose will be under strain and will quickly fail so that is important to get right.
I think the union in the wheel arch is there simply as a manufacturing / assembly aid. They could simply join it in the arch rather than fiddling around feeding the thick hose through the chassis leg structure.
I thought the plastic liner actually terminated at that union. I don't recall it being there in the rack end piece on mine, but clearly yours has got it in the second part as well.
I don't see any reason to still have the union in the arch if they can replicate the bend with something else. The hose is too thick to just bend round the corner but a mild steel pipe or union would be fine - it could be painted and then covered in adhesive-lined heatshrink sleeve before fitting. That's what I've done with my stock hose to prevent further deterioration.
By the way, the 'swivel joint' at the cooler end of the return hose isn't supposed to swivel - that's a sign of deterioration and one that does swivel will soon start to leak. Its simply a reducer to allow the hose to attach to the cooler. They would need to retrieve and re-use the reducer with some hose that will be able to make that 85 degree turn in to the cooler.
I'm in for a couple of sets if they can make them
MJ
