French Bass Brace advice

[Adrian Levi]

I have decided to take on my 'bass in a bag project' and repair this old instrument that I found in severely bad shape.
Its taken me a while to take the back off . It was epoxied to ribs with a thick barrier of the stuff all round.At times I had doubts that I would manage without causing damage but finally its off and almost cleaned of Gorilla glue and epoxy.

The bass has a typical old French brace made of a piece good looking spruce.
The upper brace I got off and can use again with a little shaping and the lower bout brace will be replaced.

My question is should I replace the large brace or not ? This would be a consideration for tonal purposes if it applies. The brace is glued on with hide glue and has stayed original by the looks of it.
It would make great wood for the repairs that the top will be needing. Any advice / insight would be great ....