Anyone that knows my project probably already knows there is probably some strange idea I had that makes me ask this question other than the obvious, and there is. I have to do something anyway because the passenger side is Swiss cheese, well like a baby Swiss, well like this:
I am seriously considering making the windshield frame, well the sides and the top bridge at least, a bolt or rivet on assembly. Why? well I'm considering de guttering the frame and then nickel or chrome plating the whole thing. To pull it off it'd probably need to first attached with adhesive and then bolted (or riveted) so that it doesn't move in relation to the bottom of the frame that would still be part of the cowl. Every convertible from GM in that period has stainless trim around the windshield and they are all gutterless. Anyway going for a look kinda like this:
I picked the Jag XJ-S as an example since it still has the stainless trimmed frame *and* a big rubber windshield gasket like what the result would be. It's an "out there" idea, and may end up being to impractical to pull off, the base of the windshield pillar is pretty complicated and ties into the firewall, cowl and A pillar and the only way to really pull it off I think would be to overcut the donor and layer it over the top of the original. It's a thought.