Nakster - congratulations and welcome to the madness.
What to do first - Rob Seigel, in his Hack Mechanic book, did a chapter on making an old car reliable. I would consider getting a copy of Rob's book and following his plan. By way of example, he recommends changing all the belts and hoses so that you know they are good. Change all the fluids. Test the alternator. Check the battery code and if its more than four years old just buy a new one. Same with the tires (although maybe you can push those a little longer.) Replace all the rubber suspension bushings, and check all the boots on the ball joints and the half shaft seals. If you plan to keep the car, having all of this reset at a single point in time both makes your car more reliable and gives you a baseline for future repairs.
I would also put leather conditioning high on the list. Not something we think about very often, but its far better to keep it supple. Once it cracks or splits its much harder to fix.
Another suggestion is if you find the bottom of your engine or the back of your transmission are covered with oil, clean those areas thoroughly and then track down the source of the leaks.
All of this can be done while you drive. And if you get into a jam, raise your hand and somebody here will help.
