I pulled my distributor so it wouldn't hit the firewall. But I don't think it was necessary. I have rubber motor mounts and they flex enough that I didn't mess with loosening them.
Just support the trans with a jack, remove the 4 crossmember bolts and the one trans mount nut. Remove the crossmember completely. And slowly lower the jack down a few inches. I left the jack under it just to support it while I worked on it.
