How to get a non IRS set-up lower?

Greg there very useful in tuning your suspension I have set a on my drag
bug we raise and lower the car for different track's .Also pretty easy to install on a speedster. Roland

Picked up the adjustable spring plates from Vee Dub Parts in Huntington Beach from a nice guy Jeff who had personal speedster experience, he say there is another speedster who pulls in from time to time. Also got some Porsche 70 mm center caps as my Fuchs replicas didn't come with. They are a little loose (any suggestions)? Took off the quick steer adjusted the tie rods (eyeball), put on a 15" grant steering wheel and it still drives like hammered dog-crap above 45 mph! I guess I'm in for the dreaded 4 wheel alignment, I 'll wait til i put the adj. springplates on. The car shakes (not shimmy's) the front end seems to buck up and down even with new tires that were balanced. Maybe I'm just not used to driving a street legal go_cart around as I usually drive a F-250 quad cab v10.I need to adjust the springplates up about an inch to lose the lowered bug negative camber look and don't want to do the 7 inner spline 7 outer spline rotation to achieve the same 1" lift result I can easily achieve with the adj. springplates. Any ideas otherwise are appreciated. P.S. My light switch from high to low beam when the steering wheel turns also since I to off the quick steer my turning radius is SOMETIMES greatly reduced!Sometimes the turning radius is short and other times it is the usual bug tight turning radius.Must be hanging up somewhere.Definitely not ready for prime-time(I5 at 80 mph!)
Thanks ahead of time,
Greg

Well I put the new steering box in and it helped ( no 2-3 inch slop at wheel)but it still shakes a bit and above 45 feels real bad all over.When I put my hand over the passenger door gap I can feel it pinch my finger a little maybe an 1/8".Whole car shakes and is loose (scary)!
I've set the alignment on front and rear with strings (a so-so job)but I still don't want to take it over 45mph.The stick shift jumps around as I drive it faster, its solid and I put all new trans mounts (original) in.I'll put Kafer in on Mon but it still shouldn't drive this bad.Ive had over 15 bugs,Ghia's,buses and none of them were this bad.
I guess I'll take it in for an alignment and maybe have the new tires balanced again, I lowered the tire air pressure to 20 and 24 psi as suggested here down from 40 all around. Could the pan need stiffening?
Bummed and tired of not being able to drive it over 40 mph.
I'll figure it out ...just complaining.

You'll need to establish a base line and eliminate things one at a time.

Wheel balance, tire condition, bent rim, wheel lugs, wheel bearings, tie rod ends, ball joints or king pins, steering damper, frame head condition, axle beam secure and rust free, trans mounts. ~ Alan

Thanks Alan,
I'm about to pull into Taco Bell and it burn if it wants to. I'll do a systematic one at a time "yellow legal pad" reconstruction. It is in there somewhere...usually a combination of stuff, but this feels like a big miss by P.O. and I haven't found it yet

Wheel balance,
New tires ,but who knows (check again)
tire condition,
New
bent rim,
Should show up on new tire installation(but who knows check again)
wheel lugs,
New studs from Old Speed with Nuts and spacers (1 1/4" in front and 1" thick Chinese 4 to 5 lug adapters on rear)
wheel bearings,
New on front,unknown on back,
tie rod ends,
Look ok (but who knows check again)
ball joints
Look ok (but who knows check again)
No king pins,
steering damper,
feels good
frame head condition,
?????
axle beam secure,
Welded flat bars in front,beam not sitting in saddle(see photos)
rust free,
Yes
trans mounts,
New.

....Welded flat bars in front,beam not sitting in saddle...
Wonder why that was done like, that? ~Alan

Maybe cut pan too short?

Maybe it is the picture, but the beam doesn't look like it is sitting straight. Looks like the top torsion tube is leaning forward, which gives less caster than stock. On a Speedster with a shortened wheelbase, MORE caster is usually called for not less.

Also, wheel adapters, spacers, wide-5s can all have enough runout to make it vibrate and shimmy like hell above 40. Not to mention bad tires, worn ball joints, steering damper, tierod ends, and trailing arm bushings. And the list goes on.

I think I might have a broken nose cone maybe the new trans mount up front separated. I also think I need to put some kind of caster shims on the bottom beam as I lowered it 2 + " with the dropped spindles.I'll start with that, gotta put adj.spring-plates and Kafer in so might as well pull trans and see whats up...check pan to body situation too.
(While installing complete new bath and kitchen for long-suffering wifey!)

Well I found a broken front trans mount,which when changed was an improvement.Also had tires rebalanced and found front right and rear left had thrown off the balance weights (adhesive failure?). Took it in for a 4 wheel alignment and front end was off on the camber quite a bit and they said the thrust on the rear was 7 or 8 (degrees?) so they were able to cut it in half to 4 but ran out of adjustment room, right axle needs to go back more and the left needs to come forward. I put on the adjustable spring-plates but I guess I'll have to grind out the bolt slots a bit, and the axle slot on the left side. It does ride a lot better but I think I need to shim out the bottom beam as previously suggested by Dr.Evil to get more caster so t will feel less squirrely. Still need to put on Kafer bar and dual Kadrons as 34 pict and 009 are killing me.