tried cleaning everything with the powerwasher and got covered with cruddy grease.
I have been playing with cars for a long time and have still never been able to decide what the best choice is here.
Pressure washing it is fast and easy but the inevitable sprayback sucks and the environmental issues are non favorable.
I have a nice 30 gallons parts washer but it takes forever for a lot of the crud that's really on there, requiring a stiff bristled brush and further cleaning, so it's time consuming. And you still have to blast it when you're done so paint will stick.
You can't just blast it in your cabinet with all the slime because you'll contaminate your media.
This leaves either having it vatted at the local machine shop or having a bulk sandblasting outfit do it.
I'm at the point where I think the best choice is having a local shop vat everything. That's what I am doing with my customer's '66 Plymouth Valiant I am building.
I'd kind of like to buy a pressurized parts washer cabinet like what big shops have: heated cleaning solution, parts on a rotisseries, everything moving and getting blasted. Best non-abrasive cleaning I've ever seen, but a tough buy for us home enthusiasts. Lot of money, takes up a lot of room and an environmental hazard when it comes time to servicing the cleaning solution.
http://www.bendpak.com/shop-equipment/parts-washer/parts-washers/