Sent my V to SME England for the overhaul last year. Same result, holy cow! Also,there was a great tweak by Roy Gregory of Hi-Fi plus magazine back in 2005 I believe for all the SME arms with the bridge, remove it, only cosmetic, just links the two sides of the bearing cradle. Two accessible screws, and easily reversible. I don’t think you’ll put it back. Only caution, if you put it back, do not torque the screws.