Wait, so, you said before you "don't think they are really doing anything of significance". Which makes sense considering you don't offer any way to reinforce that area. Now you're implying that the added stress they're going to carry to the "windshield area" is somehow going to be a problem?
C'mon man.
The "windshield area" is supported and made up from the A-pillars, which are one of the strongest points on the car. They do a lot more than just hold the windshield, they're one of the major structural components of the chassis. And tying J bars or inner fender supports into the cowl and firewall and therefore into the structures that support the A-pillars doesn't just add stress, it disperses load. The chassis reinforcement doesn't have a one way switch, they may share some load from the forward part of the frame rails and chassis but they will also disperse load from that area forward as well. Chassis reinforcement spreads the load over more area, which reduces the impact on any single component. That's true always, but it's especially important on a unibody.
And again, it's not just a matter of "liking them". I've driven my Duster with and without them and I can tell you that they make a tangible difference. Especially with 1.12" torsion bars and 275/35/18's up front and 295/40/18's out back. Are they necessary for a street cruiser? Probably not. But that's not nearly the same as saying they're not significant.
There's absolutely no way I'd run any coil over conversion without additional chassis reinforcement to compensate for the change in how the chassis is loaded. That's my bottom line. You can't say the coil over suspension doesn't load the chassis differently, clearly it does. It's just a fact of how the different suspension designs disperse load into the chassis.
