I LOVE the 223's. I have rebuild tons of them and owned over 20 or so. The grid leak mod is good advice, although I didn't use the same value, but the end result is the same. I also would so some mods in the final output section and modulator section as well.
If you need a 32.9 rock, lemme know. I am sure I have a few that are good I can send to ya, free of charge. PM me if interested.
As far as expanding the channels, you can, buy why? It is a pain, there is no way to do it other than a external VFO or changing crystals. Even then, with the above mentioned mods, I would usually just restore them, and most of the older radios I have owned back to factory specs for the purpose of nostalgia and call it a day.
If you need a 32.9 rock, lemme know. I am sure I have a few that are good I can send to ya, free of charge. PM me if interested.
As far as expanding the channels, you can, buy why? It is a pain, there is no way to do it other than a external VFO or changing crystals. Even then, with the above mentioned mods, I would usually just restore them, and most of the older radios I have owned back to factory specs for the purpose of nostalgia and call it a day.