Last night I took a closer look at my top and discovered it also was pre-marked for Mustang with a line of pinholes...
You're welcome! :buck:
Jody,
Thinking about what you are doing, the following occurred to me, you are using a top pad set, right? They are wide belts that go from bow to bow and then wider, trapeziodal shaped pads for the rear bow down to the quarter tack strips. They are important to position the bows and provide a underpinning that you will then seemingly endlessly struggle with to match with tension of the top material based on where you staple. :buck:
The wire on trim, yes, it is very hard to keep the staples within the confines of such a narrow strip. Not sure if you could find/buy a wider one or how that would look if you can buy it. If you end up repositioning, I would try to get vinyl repair liquid in the appropriate color and dab it into the holes, sealing them. Vinyl Pro of Western Pa is where I got a vinyl repair kit I used for interior vinyl. Should work for 'vert tops too but you'll probably have to mix to get the right color.
Most of the tack strip bolt holes were stripped on Isabel, I believe it is a common problem. I bought 1/4-20 Rivnuts from McMaster-Carr and Rivnutted all of the holes. On a regular convertible, the backs of these holes are for the most part inaccessible (at least on 69/70), perhaps that is different on your setup/on earlier 'stang 'vert stuff.
Regards,
Bob