I am looking at an 88 IROC 305 with TPI, and the price is right, but the guy says that the valves need redone. Would the car even be worth buying now, and how much would it cost me to fix it?

 

The price is only "right" if it is as much less than good condition market value as it will cost to get it into good condition. That's rarely the case.

But, these engines typically don't have valve problems if they've been treated to half-way decent maintenance. What does happen is the valve stem seals get hard and crack, which causes blue smoke at start-up and higher oil consumption. You don't have to do a full valve job to fix that, but if you do remove the heads and take them to a machine shop, they can make sure everything is up to snuff and machine the guides for positive-type stem seals, which work much better and last much longer.

The one thing that can wear in the heads is the valve guides, which will also cause oil usage problems. If that is indeed the case here, then it's best to go ahead and pull them and get them fixed right.

It's also not a bad time to put upgrade aftermarket valve springs in - factory springs aren't the greatest, especially if you want to upgrade the cam sometime down the road.