cleaning engine compartment

[lalink72]

I'm looking for some advice/tips on how to cleanup the front/bottom of my motor and front suspension area on my '85 chevy c20. The motor,apparantlly, had an oil leak etc. for many years before i got it. After removing the fan,fan shroud, alternator, a/c compressor, power steering pump I got a real good idea how bad it is. At 1st I thought someone had tried to put and under-coating on the truck. It is really caked up on the front frame and suspension parts. Anyway, any help in this would be greatly appreciated.