I value your input on the subject Sonoma I am certain it comes down to how the person does the mod (what else may have been done to the rig beforehand), sometimes the NPC mod work for the better & sounds great 
(as apposed to just a nixxed amc) it's all about the setup and how the radio is operated. Am I right my man? That mic gain knob can make or break some setups!
I still need to make sure that everything is factory, & then I will make sure it's linear in the final section & not class C in AM. Looking it over I can see if any parts have been recently changed, a dust layer was left for me inside the rig, courtesy of the previous owner. 
The 100 ohm resistor on the pc board worries me, I haven't spent much time looking over the schematic but I hope it's just an add on part, and not a replacement for a factory resistor, some of these Cobra radios have parts on the solder side of the board, and hardly any notation (if any) of their existence in the service manual, let alone lack of any markings to indicate that a part belongs their in the first place.
*Shaking my head ..like NO!!! WHY!!!
r204 was clipped, I replaced that with a 680ohm resistor as per schematic ,
and I was able to re-solder (save) r131(i think) which I also found clipped.
So far most of the radio doesn't look too bad, thanks again guys!
73
-Leap
