Yes, big mess. Oh, and thsi time I used your method w/ a 4" cutting wheel for teh initial cut in half.
It did it fabulously - effortlessly - liek butter.
*however*, I also found that if you did not go perfectly straight, or had to stop/restart, sicne it basically pulverises the fiberglass it's very easy to wallow it out and make the cut line pretty wide. I ended up going back to the good ol' jogsaw.

Re: the side windows, thsi all started out as a yearn to have the backseat area pretty open, w/ just the open frame and a rollback cloth over the top that could be folded back.

So, the point is to be able to just pop them off, so you have all that space open. Personally, I love being able to lean or even climb into the back through the window. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />
The acrylic ones are made to be able to jusy pop off, throw in the rear. Can't think of any way to do that w/ teh stock windows, they are awefully heavy and would take alot of fastening to keep in place.