'98 GA won't run

I aquired a '98 grand amDOHC that won't run from a guy I work with. He has had a coolant leak in the heater core and bypassed it. After that it was still losing coolant so he put some stop leak in it. Still it was losing coolant and overheating after 10-15 min.but he just kept adding water and driving it. Finally it died on him and wouldn't restart and that is when I got it(free). I've worked on it trying to get it started, and while cranking it was losing coolant out of the overflow tank. there is no water in the oil and I haven't seen it run to know if it has white smoke on startup but I bet it does. I pulled the sparkplugs and they were all wet on a couple of cylinders. I suspect the headgasket is blown. Could the head be cracked?
I was also told by a reliable source that if the head is warped that it cannot be machined and keep a H/G in it, just to replace it(head) with a new one, is this true? I plan on doing a compression check to see how it is. Thanks for the help!

You are correct in your assessment that the head gasket is probably blown. Unless the head is very badly warped, has been previously machined or it is cracked there should be no reason to replace it. You only have to take a small amount of material off to true up a head. If it can't be machined then try a local wrecking yard for a head. Should only cost a couple hundred dollars for one. While you have the engine torn down, I suggest replacing the valve chain just to save some headaches later.

The guy I talked to said that if the head requires machining , that the H/G will live a very short life(blown again in 2 wks.) He said that the increase in compression is more than the H/G can hold. I hope he is wrong but I don't want to do it again anytime soon! it may be a moot point, I am worried that the head is cracked. The guy got it hot on several occasions and would shut it down for a little while and go again.
Are the heads on these things prone to cracking if they get overheated?
Thanks for your reply!

They are not prone to cracking but multiple overheats can cause them to crack. If you are in doubt, don't waste your time and money on the head on your car, just purchase another one. Car-part.com can get you in touch with wrecking yards in your area so you can find a head the will meet your needs.

As for the head gasket living a short life, minimal machining will not cause problems but they also make special gaskets for heads that have been machined to make up for the metal that was removed. Just machine a small amount off the head will not raise the compression to a point where the gasket will blow. This will happen if you must take more than is recommended by the manufacturer. Good Luck!