engine rebuilding

I am rebuilding the engine in my '65 Mustang. It has a 289 with 3 dueces. I inherited this car about 2 years ago, the man that built the car has about $9000 tied up in this engine. Recently the moter overheated and began knocking. I don't want to take any chances of destroying the moter all together so I am going through it and replacing bearings rings and such. I have heard many stories about people who have taken their motors and heads to have them vatted and wound up getting different parts back than the ones they dropped off. I had an article at one time with a recipe for a engine degreasing sovent that could be mixed up and used fairly safely by do-it-yourself people. I cannot find this article, could you recommend a solvent that can be readily purchased or do you happen to know of a home recipe I could use?
Thank you, Mackie McElreath