welcome jay.
i recommend you do alot of research and spend as much time reading as possible. purchase a bentley manual for your car and even grab the john muir idiots guide to vw repair (it's pretty lo-fi, but it comes in handy every once & awhile). there are also a ton of technical threads on this forum and on
http://www.thesamba.comthere is also a gallery on thesamba.com where you will find lots of pics of acvw's with different wheel & height combinations.
as per lowering, i say do it the right way. for the front you can start with drop spindles and/or an adjustable beam. for the back you can turn the springplates on the splines. it's not too difficult, but it does take a little time, money & patience.
there are alot of other things to consider too. tire to car clearance, narrowed beams (with narrowed tierods & leafs), wheel width & offset, size of front & rear tires, using caster shims, replacing springplate bushings, (*edit*sorry, i was thinking of a king & link front end*), new balljoints....
