1992 Toyota Cressida - Okay as a first project car or am I dreaming?
TL;DR - title!
There's a 1992 Cressida up for sale nearby for $1200 reduced from $3000. It's been on FB marketplace for 30+ weeks and the ad says it's done a head gasket which I understand is common on these. Apparently it drove fine otherwise but of course you never know. It's also out of rego period.
I've never bought a project car. I've done plenty of basic jobs on my Subaru BRZ (mostly just servicing, new headers, and coilovers) and from what I've seen changing a head gasket on a straight engine doesn't look too bad (I also have mechanic friends I could call upon if need be). Part of me thinks I could get this for around $1k, buy the gasket set and ARP head studs for around $500, drive for a bit and sell it on as a learning opportunity and get to experience a 90s Toyota, maybe even turn a little profit, or keep it for longer if I end up liking it, JZ swap candidate down the line etc... I don't have any specific liking for these cars (they're kinda cool modified though, japanese low-rider-esque) but I have wanted a project car and this is one of the more accessible ($) ones I've seen recently.
What do you guys think? Would you take the gamble if you didn't really have a specific love for Cressida's?
Edit: Forgot to mention, the ad says it comes with a spare head so I would save on head reconditioning costs