Anyone recommend buying a mid-90's Ford with a 3.8L engine?

I read these engines have head gasket problems. The car has over 150K miles on it and I don't know if the head gaskets have been replaced already. The owner doesn't have the maintenance records even though the car is in great shape. (Interior and exterior look extremely well maintained) It has a set of 4 new tires. He said he got it from his uncle but when I asked to talk to the uncle he was very evasive, he said the uncle owns a mechanic shop somewhere and he wouldn't tell me where. Kelley Blue Book says the car is worth $1850 but he's selling it for $1,350. The car is currently registered and ped smog and has a clean title. I took it for a test drive and it runs smooth. I inspected the engine and the oil. The oil is at the right level, but there was some oil residue on the engine in places. (Don't know if this is an indication of a leak somewhere) The coolant in the overflow reservoir is very low and the fluid in the reservoir looks dirty (again, don't know if this is a problem) I did a carfax report on it...everything checks out with that (no title issues or anything). I'm not inclined to gamble on reliability, but I've been looking for a pretty long time for a car and it's getting to the point where I can't keep spending money on a rental to get around. Everyone keeps telling me I'm too hard to please, but here in California the car needs to be able to p smog and there are so many cars that are for sale here in my price range that don't p smog.Then again, I don't want to get stuck with a lemon. Another question: If the head gaskets in these cars are so bad, then wouldn't this one would have blown way before 150K + miles?