Volvo Repair: 92 Volvo 240 Wagon - Head Gasket - worth replacing?, volvo 240 wagon, head gasket

Question
Hello Regis - my '91 Volvo 240 Wagon, with 217K miles, needs a front brake job (pads wore down to metal on front left and have scored the disk), needs the head gasket replace, and the water pump replaced. My volvo mechanic's advice is to give the car its last rites get rid of it -that a gasket job would run upwards of $1500 and that it wouldn't make sense to put more $ into it. My questions are: should I get rid of the beloved car? Can I replace the head gasket, and water pump myself (having very rudimentary auto repair experience)? At this stage of the car's life, is it likely that a host of other parts will start to go? It seems the rest of the car is pretty sound - body, etc. Thanks. Pete  

Answer
this question has to many variables to answer.as you said will other things go bad,can you afford to fix it,do you not want car payments for something newer ,how much do you like the car?I can not see the car so I do not know what type of condition it is in.if you trust the mechanic than you may wish to follow his advice.this is a fairly big job it would probably be best left to someone with quite a bit of skill.