Topic moved to "Hudson" forum category.

Tom, the difference in lining is called secondary and primary. It doesn't matter if you are working on a Dodge, Ford or Hudson, the big shoe- longer lining - which is called the secondary, ALWAYS goes towards the rear of the vehicle. Some shoes have the same length lining, so there is no problem with location.
An easy way to remember this is like a 4 BBL. carb. The front barrels [primaries] are what it runs on in normal driving, and when you floor it, it allows the SECONDARIES to kick in, these are the bigger barrels, allowing more fuel. Primary - smaller, Secondary [larger]

The use of the short primary and long secondary shoe linings was common in the Bendix Duo-Servo Brakes. It is due to the fact the shoes are fixed at the top by the anchor pin, but the bottom is not fixed in place. The rotation of the drum pushes the rear shoe into the drum harder than the front shoe. The theory was that the rear shoe's lining would wear out faster than the front shoe lining. So they made the lining a bit longer on the rear shoes in the belief it would help the front and rear shoes wear at an even rate, Also the longer lining has a bit more surface area to dissipate the greater heat of the rear shoe to the drum.