300E Valve job

I'm going to do a valve job on my 86' 300E I was going to see about just getting a rebuilt head and bolting it on & done deal, well I'm finding the diffrence between that and simply taking my head to a machine shop getting the guides replaced & valves & seats cut is way off. I called EIS a supplier in STAR Magazine he wanted 1800.00! I asked him why, he said it included the cam, and that if I tried taking apart the head that I would have some horiable problem w/ the lifters, he said he had 3 other people on the line and had to go... so my question is has anyone ever adjusted or worked with the lifters on a 103 motor? I've done plenty of BMW's, no problem, I glanced thru my manual I didnt see any refrence to lifters, maybe I should look under jack stands, I really hate that book. So does it use shims? I know there hyduralic, but thats it.
Thanks for any help. Chris C.