Ulf - the front is connected with the rear with a slight dip in the middle and yes the panel is recessed to the former window pinchweld along with added pinchweld where the rear door used to be.
The more I look at the fabricated drip rail where there’s a dip after the door drip rail, the less I like it. To straighten it out would require raising the rear of the door drip rail to level it out to the rest of the side drip rail where it joins at the rear. Then it wouldn’t “look” right above the door. I’m considering just cutting and removing all the side and back drip rail from the rear of the door back - just the over-the-door drip rail would remain. All the rest i’d Remove - would be like modern cars that have no drip rail at all