That might be true of older Ford engines, unless they're completely overhauled, but I've put head gaskets on some of the newer ones (not that many, gasket technology has greatly improved) and they've run just as good, if not better as original. These days, you'd likely have close to that amount in parts and machine work! A valve job on a V-8 is roughly $225 (or more) to the machine shop. I believe on this application, you'd have around $200 - 300 (minimum, if you get a good price from the parts supplier) in parts alone just for the head gasket job. It's an expensive head set, then you need plugs (platinums is advised) Thermostat, coolant, oil and filter. You CAN get by with JUST the actual head gaskets, but they're over $100 for the pair! Auto repair is become a bit more difficult, but even moreso, EXPENSIVE. Since I've been working in a shop for the past (nearly) 10 years, the average ticket has gone up significantly. Labor rates have gone up, parts have gone up, overhead has gone up, difficulty of the jobs has gone up..... Fortunately for the customers, it seems the shop I work for is lagging behind a bit on price increases, due in part to lower overhead, and to be competitive. We are off the beaten path, so most of our business comes from referals, therefore, we HAVE to be on top of our game, and do a good job. /rant