blown head gasket

Well, my radiator blew (91xj 5speed, stock) on the freeway lost all fluid and got real hot before I could pull off. In shop, need new gasket and head but rest of engine fine. Maybe I'm just looking for a shoulder to cry on but don't know if i should drop 2k into the old girl (orig. owner). Shes got some rust and makes a lot of "jeep" noises but basically super reliable. Never done that repair myself prob not too hard but don't have a place to work on it rite now. Thats my sob story, trying to decide, been shopping around for a few days for a 5speed under $5k not much out there..going through the model years n reading threads..any thoughts/moral support? thx

Go to the JY and pick up a head (assuming your old head is cracked). have the head decked then buy the gasket kit and do it yourself. Shouldn't cost more that a couple hundred bucks and not that tough to do. Make sure you remove all the old gasket material from the block.