Help/advice needed [in Spain] for major engine work

[al__dente]

Hi Guys,
I'm looking for a little help/advice.
 My 1985 water cooled 1.9 petrol (with LPG conversion) T3 transporter overheated severely whilst driving through Spain in August and I'm not sure how to proceed.

The engine is in good condition and has had a recent partial rebuild, but there was an electrical failure (the power was cutting out as I was driving but I didn't know how to interpret that) leading to the sensor being fried, overheating with no cooling, serpentine belt breaking, head gasket blowing - all whilst driving down a 40degree motorway at 100kmph for 2 hours.
 The engine got VERY hot, but the engine block seems to be OK according to the mechanic - where the van is currently parked, but he has not opened the engine up yet fully and so we do not know the precise damage. They have quoted between €3-6K for repairs, depending.

I don't know whether to commit to this, and feel the repair cost could spiral out of control.

Maybe it's better to ship the van to a VW/T3 specialist in Spain or Portugal who might have parts at hand. 
If so, does anybody have any experiences or recommendations on a place? 

Or it's possible that looking for a new engine is actually a better option, but I guess that could open a new can of worms.

I'm quite a new owner and not particularly mechanically minded so sorry if I'm not using the right language, but I was hoping for a little wisdom and experience from you guys to help me make a decision,

Thanks a lot! 
Allan

[Stesaw]

Very difficult to say if the engine would be dead, if it's siezed then yes a new engine would be the only sensible option.
It might be easier and possibly less expensive to replace the engine than to try repair it, it depends how damaged it is internally.

[al__dente]

Very difficult to say if the engine would be dead, if it's siezed then yes a new engine would be the only sensible option.
It might be easier and possibly less expensive to replace the engine than to try repair it, it depends how damaged it is internally.

Thanks for the feedback @stesaw