Melted fuse box

[shyte]

I am looking to buy a '99 w/ I believe the 2.0 that has only 50,xxx miles on it for $2,500. The fuse box under the hood on the drivers side melted for some reason. When it did, I believe it caused the fans to quit working & then it of course overheated. The guy who owns it, my neighbor, replaced the panel & it starts right up now. Has this happened to anyone else(is it a common problem)? Would this be the reason the fans quit? He said now that it starts, it overheats because it is low on coolant(maybe blew a head gasket?). Do these have to have a special coolant? I know this is alot of ?'s but I want to make sure I'm not getting over my head w/ this. It has been parked in his driveway for at least a year that I know of. I appreciate your time & for any advise you can give me on this.

[shyte]

Thanks for the info. Do you know if the fuse(s) in that box are for the fans? I am relatively mechanically inclined so how long & difficult is it to change the waterpump(and timing belt since I have read on here to do both). I am going to get coolant for it tomorrow to see if it leaks from the head gasket or see if it is in the oil, but does it take special coolant other than what I can get @ an autoparts store? Thank you.

[from Margaritaville...]

The left one of the three green fuses is for the cooling fan as well as the center one of the metal strip fuses...

[shyte]

Thank ya'll for all the help.