Yeah, the '59 544 would be a better candidate for the custom. A flat windshield is more suitable for the look I'm after though, and as you noticed has a different shape above the windshield. Moving a flat windshield back works better than a curved. Since the 444/544 body is a couple inches wider at 2' back from it's original location, the windshield/surrounding sheet metal needs to be widened, too. Obviously, it's way easier to do this with flat glass, therefore 444 (or maybe 445). Probably what I really need as a donor for the cutup version is a rusting into the ground hulk. The '53 was close (3hrs away) and I'd been looking for a while, so I jumped on it, maybe prematurely. Charmed out of my wallet by the split rear window, too.
Here's the Photoshopped pic of what I have in mind. Let's see, how do I get in and out?

neil