Cleaning car parts?!?!?!?!?

I am replacing the head gaskets in my 1986 ford f150. I am now looking for something to clean my parts off before i put them back into comission. I have tried a de greaser, with little to no effect on the buildup, especially in the valleys under the lower intake manifold. I am now lost in a world of chemical names. I've heard to use Acetone, MEK, even gasoline. NAPA has a 5 gallon bucket of solvent they tried to sell me for the job but it was over a hundred dollars. So my question is, what should i use? and if necessary what kind of gloves should i use when handling it? Im cleaning upper and lower intake manifold, 2 heads, and valve covers. Also i need to clean off the block where the heads and intake go.

try using oven cleaner