Since i need front hoses, i'm revisiting my thoughts on the rear axle hoses.

My car has an early pipe routing, with the pipes above the axle. But the axle is a later one without the bracket, so its all a bit bodged currently.

I'm struggling to figure out what exactly the short pipe and jump hose does on the later setup?

If the caliper pipe goes from the axle to the chassis, why cant the hard line from the front just go directly into that flexi?

I think it is to keep the flexi short while still allowing full suspension movement without it flapping around and risking getting snagged on anything. There's doesn't seem to be anything stopping you from doing a sort of hybrid, half early/half late, arrangement though. Other than not being able to buy a suitable flexi that is. I wanted to replace all the pipework on one of my other cars. making up new hard lines with Kunifer wasn't a problem but I was then told that flexis were NLA (for a 1990 car?). I bought a length of Goodrich hose and the correct ends from https://www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk/s/goodridge-fluid-transfer/goodridge-600-series-brake-clutch-hose-fittings and following the guide here https://www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk/knowledge_base_articles/view/how-to-assemble-your-own-brakeline-266 made my own.

Looking at photos, the later "caliper" flexi goes from the axle across to a tab underneath the chassis. Then theres a short hard line to another flexi.

I dont understand what that second flexi is doing?

Can the hard line not just run along the chassis and then directly into the caliper flexi?

My best guess is that the original brake hardlines were attached to the body during assembly, rather than the chassis, and the second flexi is to allow them to jump across to the chassis during mating?

I'm not sure my lines are actually attached to the body any more as they've been replaced, so i'm thinking i use the late caliper flexi to the chassis, and then reroute the hardlines down and in, skipping the second flexi entirely.

That way i'm using standard late flexis, but only the two for the calipers.

I am struggling to understand the issue here but I have had a look through what photos I have got to see if I had any on the rear brakes.
I took a few pics when I overhauled my rear brakes a few years ago. Longer hoses but otherwise standard.
The small brackets are nla.

Thanks.

The early setup (my car is a '94) has hard lines running across the axle a bit like the older classic/discovery, which then jump up to the body/chassis from a bracket off the middle of the axle.

So i have Flexi from caliper to axle, hardline across the axle to a bracket, flexi from bracket to body/chassis, hardline to the front.

Except my axle is the later type and doesnt have the bracket. Someones bodged it previously by hacking the bracket off the old axle and clamping it to the newer axle with a jubilee clip. The later axle also doesnt have any provisions to secure the hardlines to the casing, so they're attached with cable ties. Its all a bit crap and thus I'd like to try and convert it over to the later style as per your pics.

The bit you've pictured i can understand, i need a new flexi and possibly i need to add a tab on the chassis to hold said flexi.

The bit i was struggling with, is what happens after that. Your car will have a short hardline that goes up to the top of the chassis near the spring mounts, then a flexi going somewhere, then eventually the hardlines to the front.

I'd like to run the hard line from the front, directly to the flexi in your photo.

Found a great angle from a youtube video and took a screen shot.

Blue line is the caliper flexi we can see above.

Then there is a red line representing the hardline that seems to just span from two points on the chassis.

Then a green is flexi from chassis to body.

Then the orange line is the hardline that heads off to the front of the car.

My thinking is to simply connect the orange hardline directly to the blue flexi.

I can't see why not. As you say, the additional flexi is probably there so the hard lines on the chassis can be connected to the others on the body. I can't see there being any movement between the two, it isn't a Classic where the body mounts will have rotted away years ago and the body to chassis distance will vary every time you go round a corner.....

I recently went through a similar process of modifying my car which had the pipes on the axles. I went a flexi going straight from the body down to the caliper with some brackets to hold it in position in similar locations to standard on later cars. Here's what it looks like:

nice one, thanks.

Ordered front hoses for now, but once they're sorted and the car actually works again, i think i'll get the rears ordered and get it tidied up.