Yep that cone is gone! will transform the mower when you put a new one in.
I would say you don't remove the disks, need to keep them as round as possible, short of pulling them out and getting them machined.
The cone on those is not too bad. First off loosen the drive disks and spread them apart. Drop the engine belt off, then the pedal linkage. Then you should be right to remove the hinge pin. the whole thing should twist around and drop out from memory. its never quite that easy though.
