Hello-
Hello,
I'am thinking of purchasing a SACO hydraulic set-up from www.vwispwest.com for my 915 box.
Is this company reliable
Yes. As Type 3 owners, Charles and I have done tons of business with them (they specialize in T3's). They are good folk.
and/or does anyone have any experience with this clutch set-up.
Yes. I have it on my 923 box (basically a 915) in my T3.
They say its a bolt-in kit with master and slave cylinder plus all hydraulic hoses and connections. Of course some mods will probably have to be made for the connection to the 915 box.
Costs are $179,-- plus shipping. Since the dollar is quite low these days, the ease of such a set-up is tempting.
Walter
It is a good quality kit, but it is designed for the T1, and definately needs some changes for the 915.
The master is fairly straightforward to install. One suggestion is that it might be easier to use two studs and nuts to install the master in the tunnel. Go to NAPA and get a pair of Ford exhaust manifold studs - they are M10, and have a small unthreaded portion right where you want it. You also may need to bend/grind parts of the clutch pedal stop(s) to get a little more pedal travel.
One major problem I had is clutch travel. The hydraulic clutch setup is designed to give just barely enough travel on a T1 to disengage the clutch. Remember that hydraulics are not a cure-all - leverage is still leverage, whether mechanical or hydraulic. So, it is because of this reduced slave travel that the master (i.e. pedal) feels less force.
This is a problem because the Porsche tranny needs a lot more travel than a T1 tranny! After messing around for awhile, I developed a setup that not only gives me enough travel, but also gives me a lot more ground clearance. The slave cylinder sits up on the right-hand side of the tranny. I welded a new loop to the clutch fork to put the slave's stud through (it was 2.25" from the pivot as opposed to the stock 5.5"). And, I flipped the whole clutch arm around upside-down - that's what gave me the added ground clearance.
I should take some pictures of this... it'd make a lot more sense that way :-).
Take care,