Miata top replacement questions - Curse of the Prior Owner

I picked up a new top for the ratty Miata, and was going to attempt to swap it today.  However, that didn't work out so well.  I can only guess that the last owner of the car to change the convertible top ended up losing a bunch of parts between removing the old one and replacing it.  Not to mention, reusing a rain rail that they needed to fix with glue and tape.  Fortunately, I ordered the new top with a rain rail already installed.  The missing parts, though...

For starters, a good chunk of the hardware that holds the retainers for the top and/or weatherstripping in place appears to have been replaced with drywall screws:

A few were even in places where I think there should have been rivets, or things that didn't even need to be removed to replace the top.  I am guessing a couple of the locations in the below picture should be replaced with rivets:

And finally, even the tension cables where held on by two screws each, instead of what I suspect was one original:

All in all, I pulled 24 drywall screws, and there are 6 remaining.  Which brings me to my first question, do the four stainless screws in the picture below look like the correct hardware for all the places the drywall screws were used, or is there some other hardware I should be tracking down?

From a few quick measurements, they look like #10 screws with a length of about 7/16" inch, or something similar in metric.  If these are good, I'll see about buying a bag of 1/2" long screws and getting them shipped to me(or hitting up the local hardware store ), as they aren't too expensive, but if factory hardware is something else, does anyone know what I should look for?

Next question I have is about the B pillar retainers.  I don't think I have them.  Were they supposed to be here?

I've found them online, and will order them, if that's where they belong, since it appears they are no longer there (though I may check the spare parts stash I got, I'm pretty sure I didn't see anything like them).  Secondly, any idea what kind of hardware is used to hold them in place?  In the manual that came with the top, it looks like a stainless screw, so I'm hoping its the same as the other missing hardware.

Next up, I'm not 100% sure where the rivets are supposed to go, I think I can figure it from the manual, but there were no rivets holding any part of the top in place when I pulled it off, so any info would be good.  The pictures in the manual could use a bit more detail/contrast on some pages.

I think that covers the issues I know of for now.  Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

Sorry for your frustrations, I'm dealing with sorting out some issues with my own recent Miata purchase. It only has a hard top, so now I'm really wondering what it would take to get one on the car. 

Probably just won't. Good luck, and keep posting. 

Doc, you have it easy. Dropping in a complete top with frame is cake.  Three main bolts on each side plus a dozen-ish 6x1 nuts. 

Tim, the factory manual doesn't have pictures, just very clean line drawings. See if you can get your hands on that manual or a parts diagram. I'm honestly not all that familiar with all the bits and pieces of the top because it's just not what we do. Last time I changed a top on a frame was 2003. I've r&r 'd a few with frames since then, though. 

Maybe the guy was thinking countertop, not convertible top.

If pictures of an nb top will help, i can take some tomorrow 

You may be further ahead to pick up a new frame so it doesn't have a bunch of holes and (presumably) stripped thread holes.  My local Craigslist always has them for around $50, and I'll bet you'd get all the hardware you need, too.  

Yes those stainless Phillips screws are the correct ones for the weather stripping retainers.

I'll go out to the garage tonight to see if my spare frame has the b retainer in question for you.

Thank you all!  I’ll see about getting some proper screws, assuming there’s no deal on a complete top frame on CL.  I suspect the screw holes are still good to go for the proper style of hardware, but if they’re stripped, I’ll figure something out.  Wonko or Duster, would definitely appreciate the confirmation on the b pillar retainers.  Will also see if I can track down a factory manual, or at least some better images or drawings of the top mechanism.

Would it be at all helpful to come and look at mine?

Here ya go.. took me a bit to get out there, we fell asleep on the couch while getting the babies to fall asleep...

The first images are with the weatherstripping on, then how it looks under the "Christmas trees" that hold the weatherstripping at the bottom.  It's held in with a single stainless screw. 

Hope this helps!

In reply to WonkoTheSane :

That helps a lot.  Definitely missing them, so I’ll put in an order for the parts soon.  Thank you!

Yeah, I think they're important to longevity of the top.  The entire purpose is to hold the stitched edge (visible in the top image I posted) in place.  That prevents it from getting caught on things and frayed, especially when the top is down.

Let me know if I can help you. I can probably bribe my wife into using her scanner.

FYI, if you decide to replace the frame, you can put a complete NB top on an NA if you want. Lighter and more waterproof and it just bolts straight in.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Lighter? With a glass rear window?

Yup. They're a lot simpler when you see them. I think Mazda says 3 kg lighter, but I'd have to go back to my sources to double check.

Edit - my sources are 5' away from my desk chair. 1.3 kg lighter.

No luck on CL for finding any new top frames, and around here, Miatas don't usually show up in junkyards, so I'm going to go with mine for now, as I'd rather not have it stuck in the garage too long. 

I've picked up some #8 and #10 stainless screws at the hardware store, and will do a little testing with them.  The heads are a little larger than the ones I pulled off the car, but I'd hope they are more appropriate than the drywall screws.  I've also found that it appears the tension cables are supposed to be riveted to the front of the top frame, not screwed.  With any luck 1/8 rivets should work, as I have a bunch of those.

Cousin Eddie, I may get back to you about that.  I'm going to dig around online, but if I'm unsuccessful, a few photos of drawings that show where the top is riveted and where it is glued would be really handy.

If you're anywhere near a Spec Miata shop, they toss the top on every car they build.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

None that I know of really close to Cincinnati, but will keep my eyes open in the future.

Went ahead and ordered parts, and also found what I think is the part number for the screws.  They were pricey, so I only ordered six, and will just use them in places it looks like the lower profile head is needed.  The rest can come from the hardware store.

The shipping delay for everything should give me plenty of time to get the car up on jackstands and install the butterfly brace that has been sitting around for a while.

A quick google search shows a local miata club:

https://www.cincimiata.com/about.asp

Maybe reach out to those guys?

And, depending on whether you're heading up that way soon, I know V2 Motorsports (spec miata builder) is in Detroit area. 

I’ve reached the point where the top is installed, but the vinyl isn’t stretched enough to latch it.  Anyone got advice for that?  I’ve got some weight on the front bow of the top, and have loosened up the latches as far as they adjust.  There’s still about an inch of a gap.  I can almost get it to latch by pulling forward on the top frame as much as possible.  It’s too rainy and cold to let the car sit out in the (nonexistent) sunlight to stretch, so I’ve been aiming my garage heater at it, but I don’t know if that’s helping.  Any suggestions to help it stretch a bit more (without damaging it) so it can be latched?

Heat and sunlight help. Did you tighten down the rain rail nuts? You can loosen those up to get a little more play. Outside of that - just get a helper and pull.

Looks like Thursday will be sunny, but with high temps in the low 50s.  Next sunny day here won’t be for over a week.  Guess I’ll stick with the garage heater.  I did tighten the nuts for the rain rail, and could loosen them, but I am afraid the weatherstripping lip will fold down if I loosen it too much, and it was a massive bear to get in the right position.

I could stop by on my way home tonight if you want a second pair of hands to help pull.

I think I've netted more hours replacing convertible tops than actual top-down driving. 

You just need some heat.  It's hard to judge how much umph you're using.  You don't want to bend a latch, but the top material will withstand a fair bit of umph.  

Too tight is better than too loose.  It's harder to shrink it than stretch it.  :)

Any limit to how much I should try to stretch it?  Just want to make sure I'm not risking damaging the top.  I can always run the heater on it for a few hours a day for the next few days if need be. 

A picture of the gap is near the bottom of this page on my build thread:  Ratty Miata - Page 3

wae, may not worry about it tonight.  I still need to do some other work on the car, so it's not like it's getting out of the garage tonight anyway.