Hi John,
And a welcome to the forum from me too.
I tend to remove the rocker box and cylinder head but leave the barrel on after slackening the nuts and making sure it's loose. This way I'm protecting the pistons and rings whilst handling the lump. In fact I would leave the barrel on until you get it to your mates place.
Oh, and make a note as to where the pushrods come from so they can be put back in the same places. I put 4 holes in a piece of cardboard, mark them inlet n/s & o/s exhaust n/s & o/s and keep the pushrods bottom down in those holes.
Beezageezauk.