[Bruce Edwards]

Ouch I can see why you would not wish to call.
Some things to look at.
Check to be sure the pedal shaft is not binding and the bushings are in good shape. A lot of the old Mustang II set ups are worn out and the pedal moves to one side as it is pushed and binds.
The fork you show is set up for a push system not a pull system. So one thing that may help is using a late model fork and moving the pivot to the other side of the bell. Look at a T-5 set up to see what I am talking about.
I would go the other way on the clutch set up if go back to a master/slave set. Use a larger master and smaller slave. The larger master will give you more fluid to push the slave and thus the clutch rod. The 427 car we did some time ago with a slave set up we used the standard fork cut the end off and welded on a flat plate to hook up the clutch rod off of the slave. The slave was bolted to the block so it did not have much leverage but it worked smoothly and with little effort.
If you are bending the pedal you have a BIG problem No way should it be that hard to push.
I wish I could talk to you and get more info about how it is all set up but I would not want to call Germany either!