I even take it a bit further and only pull the manifolds off, strap the intake tree to the windshield wiper, pop off the head (MUCH easier to do that when the block is bolted down than on a cart or bench!), and then pull the crank pulley and alternator. Engines come in and out that way easily, even 89 to 94s. And you are probably going to want your original intake tree anyhow. I learned that by doing only valve jobs right at first, but have now done 39 Geo 3 cyls. The ONLY thing that almost always gets me: I usually forget to pull the little bottom bell housing plate bolted on with two 10mm bolts, and the motor starts to move, but will NOT come all the way off that way! I hate pulling Transes!
The crappiest jobs on Metros are swapping transes. If I were doing a clutch only, I would ALWAYS pull just the engine. If I were being paid to do ONLY a clutch, I would leave the intake tree on the motor and disconnect the multiple pipes and wires from the harness and firewall. But if I was doing anything else (I almost always need to clean the EGR passages, at least), I would leave the intake on the car and wired up high and towards the firewall, and just pull the head, then block.