On my 68 convertible the retaining clips in the stainless trim that you show in the picture are completely separate from the removable cowl piece and are secured to the panel you show in your picture before the removable cowl piece is installed. It looks to me that someone was a little over exuberant with the putty/bondo and filled the holes. you should be able to feel from the backside where the filler is poking through and just re drill them and slide the clips to align with the original holes. If you can't locate the holes because metal was replaced in that area and are fussy about them being in the correct spots I can give some exact measurements, let me know.