Have not done it on a 2.3 (in the car), but have on other engines.  You will need to remove the valve cover, then the rocker arms.  There are a number of ways to proceed from there.  To keep the valves from dropping in the cylinder you can either add sustained compressed air, or place the piston at TDC and then fill the combustion chamber with thin rope. I prefer the rope method.

From there, there are a number of ways of compressing the valve spring. There are spring compressors that grab at the top and the bottom of the spring (like BBQ tongs) and then a knob is turned to compress the spring. This type may have interference with various aspects of the head.  There are other devices that hook on the cam (to create a pivot point) and then you press via a lever on top of the spring retainer to relieve spring tension and remove the valve keepers with a thin magnet. This is also the method I prefer.

Time has probably hardened the seal and likely sitting for a long time (33K miles in 37 years) tends to cause deposits to adhere to the valve stem and creating a coarse surface that further damages the seal.

This is the only special tool you need, I got mine on E-Gay or you could make one. With this tool it is very easy to do, never did it before and took me less than a half hour start to finish..

Yep, that's exactly how it works very simple. That's a Rotunda tool but there are copies out there pretty cheap that'll work just as good, I lucked out and found a used Rotunda(like new)for about $20, was well worth it...

Clean car..