Capetown,
If you have already cut and turned your beam, I’d suggest buying a new bare adjustable beam from one the VW aftermarket vendors you can find online. This will allow you to adjust the static (ride) height of the car after removing the leaves. The paint on them is cheap, so you may want to paint it right when you get it.
They also make caster adjusters for these beams. It shims the bottom or the top beam toward the front or the rear of the car to add or reduce caster. I’d suggest using these shims to get more positive caster (trail) into the front end. It makes straight line cruising a joy.
I’d start by removing 4 “half” leaves from each tube. That leaves the 4 main leaves and 2 “half” leaves in each tube. You can remove up to six from each tube. I know several 356 Speedster replica builders have removed all six “half” leaves from each beam and the cars are just fine.
You can also remove all the top tube “half” leaves and 3 of the bottom tube “half” leaves. There are many possibilities to get it dialed in right.
As far as sway bars go, the stock one in front is plenty. You don’t really need a rear one on the IRS rear suspension. If you have swing axle that’s a different story. A bar called a camber compensator is suggested.
By softening the spring rate to the correct rates for the much lighter car, your handling and ride will imporve beyond your expectations. All the componets, like steering, brakes, etc. will work as they are supposed to.
I feel building these VW kits and leaving the suspension un-softened is a sin. The tube turning is a manufacturers short cut to correct the ride height. DO IT RIGHT!