Best of luck: I don't think they're designed to be removed. I had exactly the same problem: smell of burning, couldn't see how to get the thing apart, so carried on using it until it started smoking, then bought a Dyson!
Anyway, with nothing to lose, I cut my way in: once you get the cream cover off, it's quite easy, but I still haven't worked out how to get it off without destroying it.
My motor was completely seized, solder melted on the commutator, so it's in the bin now! Brushes weren't bad for 20 years.
Boris
April 2010
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