new armrest pad screws to short!

I would be more concerned about the thread pitch on those hardware screws? The original screws had almost no pitch on the thread at all and also have the serrated surface under the head of the screw. This was made that way to prevent the screws from loosening and backing out. That, to me, seems to be the real issue with the repro armrest pads not being able to use the oem screws. Check them out yourself for the thread pitch vs those hardware store sheetmetal screws.