Experienced V8 Guys, REALLY need some clutch help Options

[aircooledboy]

I am having a hell of a time getting my clutch set up (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/headbang.gif) , and now I am getting conflicting advice from Kennedy & Renegade. The problem is I like & trust the guys at both places so now I don't know what to do. I know there are plenty of you guys out there who have 901's mated to SBCs with out any problem, and I need your help here.

My problem is I cannot get the new parts I bought to work. There's more detail here, but this is the short version: I just bought a Stage III 9" KEP pressure plate and 9" Sachs organic disk. I have one washer under the pivot ball so that there is about 1/8" free play in the fork when the trans is mated to the engine. I can tighten the clutch cable so that the fork goes so far back when I step on the clutch that it hits the trans, but the clutch will not release all the way. I have had the trans in & out of the car 7 times making different adjustments, nothing helps.

Spoke to Scott at Renegade today, and he says those parts ain't gonna get it w/ a 901. Said the Stage III press plate is going to pull my pivot ball out of my trans eventually, and the Sachs disk won't work because it is too thick. Scott says I need a Stage II plate, and a kevlar disk, because the kevlar is thinner.

So I called KEP to tell them I need to send this stuff back and get the right parts. Dave at KEP says he's not in agreement with Scott that this stuff won't work. He was very nice and helpfull but he said: 1) he doesn't think kevlar disks are a good idea period, but shouldn't be neccessary anyway because 2) the pressure plate is engineered by them specifically for this application with this disk, and they work. He told me that they had a problem with their CNC setup briefly, and my press plate may have been made and sent out before they caught it, resulting in the friction ring on the plate being too think, and explaining why my clutch won't release. Dave then expressed concerns about my Renegade adaptor plate and the fly wheel I have and worried they might be creating problems too if they are not the right heights & thicknesses for the way their clutch is engineered. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/headbang.gif) KEP is willing to have me send the press plate back to them, and they will check it out, If they find a problem, they will replace it with whatever I want, but I got the feeling they won't take the disk back at all, and if there is nothing wrong the the press plate, they aren't exchanging that either. He even wanted me to send my flywheel, but I really don't want to pull it off again.

I know several of you guys have tons of experience with this, whereas this is the only one I have ever played with, so I have no frame of reference in sorting out who to believe. If you guys can offer some direction here, I sure would be grateful. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/pray.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/beerchug.gif)