[Bruce Edwards]

The fork is not the problem. I see in this post that you used a master and slave and you say it was still hard to push. If the master is larger than the slave or the same size the pedal will work better. The pivot point can be changed so you have more leverage. That will also make it easier to push.
I set up a 427 car with a slave from a Ford truck, this was before they became all the rage, and cut the fork off by a inch or more and welded on a flat plate to mount the pivot from the slave on. Pedal effort was not a problem but I had the master and slave all worked out for the car as well as a good lever set up at the pedal point.
What pedal set up are you using?