Hi Frank, i have dissasembled many as it's the quickest way to remove from a donor when your on your own in a you pull it, it removes the input shaft from the clutch easy, other wise the weight of the whole trans can bind up in the clutch spigot,just remove the 14 or so bolts around the cast section, and i always remove the 3 small bolts holding the shifter shaft end cover, and while in neutral remove the shifter shaft, this frees up the selector rods , makes removing the rear section easy, just tap off with a rubber hammer,as the casting can break with a ordinary steel one trust me been there.
Regards
Graeme