Bell Throat Repair

[Will]

When I bought my YFB-822 a year and a half ago, it was damaged during the shipping to me. The bell was dented pretty bad and the bracing between the bell throat and body had been pushed into the throat (as if the horn had been squeezed). It was shipped in a yamaha case more fit for a 641 CC than a 822 F. The horn played great (and still does) so I decided to get it. The seller cut off communications once he got his money so I could never work out compensation for the damages. I repaired the bell with my own funds but not the bell throat, fearing it would mean taking the horn apart and costing a lot of $$$.

I recently noticed that maybe the remaining damage has gotten worse. This may be from placing the horn on it's bell, which is done every night in it's storage locker.

How much and what would be involved in repairing the bell throat? Would this require getting a new bell? Is this something that needs to be dealt with sooner than later? Maybe I should stop storing it in the locker, which means placing it on it's bell for most of the day.

Will

[Chuck(G)]

..makes me wonder if the top bow might not be "pushed in" a little, too.