Balance

[novice]

You said "little car" ?. I'll assume it's no bigger than 6 cylinders.
You need one head gasket, one inlet manifold gasket, one outlet manifold gasket, a torque wrench (hire one for a half day).
Don't be daunted by all the clutter, it's one of the simplest jobs under the hood.
Tag stuff if you don't think you'll remember the order to reverse the process. The torque settings for each gasket will be on the packet (the gaskets come as a set- about $130us i'm guessing)
Seriously mate, $1200 leaves a lot of room for error if you should happen to screw up. (you'd have to be a moron)
If you have an overhead belt or chain driven camshaft make sure you secure it before you remove the head. Buy the workshop manual online.
My first time was a 4 cylinder datsun. no prior knowledge and that baby was up and running 3 hours later and cost $160us.
While you're at it you may as well give it a valve grind. Adds $10 and a couple of hours to the overall project but it's worth it while the head's off.