I watched and helped the guy replace my windshield. As Dave said, the clips go on before the install so the glass has to come out to properly clip these fasteners over the glass.

As much as I like keeping with the Chrome frame, Next time it will be New Style rubber for me.

Hey Mike. Unfortunately there is only one right way to get the clips in, and that's by pulling the windshield. You can dig out some of the adhesive and try to force the clips under the edges. My experience is that this results in breaking clips. Even if you get them part way under the glass, snapping the molding down usually tweaks them and they soon pull out or break. You may want to shop around on the work. My glass guy will pull and re-seat a noisy windshield for forty bucks. This includes installing the clips, which I supply. He will upgrade me to the later style seal on an existing glass for sixty.

Not sure where you are located, but if summers are warm, you've probably got some of the old butyl adhesive squeezing out of the channel on the interior. Whether you go with the old molding or new, pulling the windshield is a great opportunity to remove all the old goop and upgrade to the newer urethane adhesive/sealant. It has a much higher melt temp and won't squeeze through even in 110 degree sun up here in the desert.

Good luck!
DS