The body is not that hard to remove. The hard part is finding a way to lift it high enough to clear the engine. You need to lift it about 4 feet. It makes working on the engine and tranny way easier.
If you have a way to lift the body, I'd say the amount of work to remove the body is actually less than trying to pick the engine and tranny with the body in place. Keep in mind the body weighs in excess of 1000lbs.