brake shoes

[jack earls 10]

i have just got a set of rear shoes for my 55 buick the shoes have different lengths of friction lining along the shoes,which goes to the rear of the car and which to the front,would i be right in thinking the shoes with the larger area of friction lining faces toward the trunk,the other therefore faces the front of the car.

Thanks Jack

[Pete O 98]

Drum brakes with a floating adjuster are self-energizing. When the car is going forward and you apply the brakes, the wheel cylinder pushes both shoes out to contact the drum. When the front shoe contacts the drum, it tends to rotate with the drum. The rotational force is transferred through the adjuster link to the rear shoe. So now the rear shoe is being forced against the drum by the wheel cylinder and the front shoe. Because the rear shoe is doing more "work", it needs to have the longer lining because it is doing a larger percent of the stopping. It also evens out the wear, as the rear shoe would wear out quicker if it were the same size since it is doing more braking than the front shoe with the shorter lining.

[jack earls 10]

Thanks pete pretty much as i thought ,brakes now fitted to car and running fine.

Jack