that's what I did with the 97-98's that I tore. For 97-98 - I tore base, but kept RC's and inserts untorn. And by "tare"/"torn" I did exactly what you did - box cutters to slit an opening and pull the card out.
Bucket - http://s251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/phildonu37/ (I don't update my bucket when stuff is gone)