That looks like an excellent job of head reconditioning, and while the price seems a bit steep to me, you've gotta remember I grew up around a shop where the lowest labor rate I can remember was $5.00 an hour! Of course, at that time the minimum wage was 90 cents an hour!
One little tidbit of trivia for folks intending to rebuild a stovebolt head- - - - - -the exhaust valves in an 848 head are identical to the ones used on small block V8's, and even the stainless steel ones are dirt cheap on Ebay. If you want to do a little pocket porting, a set of 1.6" diameter small block V8 exhaust valves aren't hard to adapt to the stovebolt head. I've got a later model 261 with an 848 head on it stashed away in the "one of these days" project category that's earmarked for the "Cadillac 292" upgrade with a stroker crankshaft, and I'm planning to do the big exhaust valve modification on it.
I'm really glad I chose to invest in machine tools over the years that make it possible for me to do most of my own engine machining!
Jerry
