This may be silly, but has anyone with a 78 or newer c3 ever tried to modify the rear glass so it is hinged and can open? I know some newer SUV's have a back hatch with hinges directly on the glass, obviously the vette rear window is larger, so it may not be possible, but i also know some of yall got some creative thinking and doing skills. 

I believe one of the aftermarket Corvette suppliers offers a kit for that. At least they did back in the 80s.

Most places don't carry these any longer since they were 82 Collector specific. There is an older thread here in C3VR that has a contact link on it that may be of some help to you...

The Link - 1982 Collector Eddition Rear Window Hinges - Forums - Official C3 Vette Registry - C3 Corvette Registry (c3vr.com)

Tux... 🤵 (((WAVING)))

From everything I could find on a limited search of the interweb is that it was possible back as recent as the mid-2000s but was very expensive.  And that was like $3,000 to $4,000.  The only company listed back in the 70s & 80s is out of business now. One of the suggestions was to find a donor '82 Collector Edition car and scavenge the pieces off of it and sell your old parts. 

Your exactly spot on in what you have read... Finding an 82 Collector these days to scavenge parts from is no small feat in itself. That is one of the reasons I posted the reply above that had the link in it. This was a guy who worked in a machine shop and made the brackets. With luck he might make them for you. Even if he didn't, he might be willing to provide you a copy of the prints and another shop might make them. Heck possibly the shop I work in might... (((GRINNING))) B ut then we won't know that unless you ask... Worst case scenario is the link won't work or he says no.

Another thought for you is you might give a friend of mine Larry Bartley from Corvette Restorations a call and see if he might help you out. Since he restores high end Corvettes, he has many contacts that might do you some good. Who knows he might even be able to set you up from his own parts stash...

Here is a link to Larrys website ---> Corvette Restoration | CorvetteRestoration.Com

Tux... 🤵 (((WAVING)))