I think that he doesn't want to do it. Of course the last time I had valve work done was on my Model A when I was in college. I drove to the machine shop, removed the head, watched while he repaired the seats and replaced the valves (I had bought some cheapo offshore ones that burnt out in short order), paid him maybe $50, replaced the head and drove back to my dorm. So I really don't know what the going rate is.
