John,
I can't see the two sides being different in length. These pieces are pretty hard steel, and all they do is push - it's not like dynamic wear. I'm wondering if they could be different sizes for different size trucks/wheels, and someone substituted the wrong size?
OK, here's a dumb idea: for each side, there's a "front" and a "rear" bar, connected by the "hinge" lever. As I recall, the bars are each a different length, one being shorter to facilitate removal from their "captured" installation. Are you sure you're measuring the same bar on both sides? Or that one side isn't "flipped" versus the other? I know you're not an idiot, but I thought it might bear mentioning.
The bars definitely need to ride against the shoes in the unapplied position, and ALL the linkage needs to be adjusted to no slack with the lever forward - else you won't get maximum throw/pressure on the shoes when applying.
The geometry ends up being important with manual brakes, which is essentially what the e-brake is. There are individual adjustments on each side to ensure you get proper positioning.
I probably haven't helped at all - you'll figure it out eventually.
-Michael
