With a $7k budget and 100 miles a week driving (7k/year with roadtrip), I think you'll be fine. D2s will be worth at least as much in 2 years as they are now. Keeping it moving wont be more than $2k year. Accessories like lifts, bumpers, etc are not included in my estimate.
Spend $4.5k on a clean D2 with real maintenance records. Personally, I'd look for:
-good tires (replacements will cost about $1k
-head gaskets done more than 1 year ago but not more than 3 (HG done 3 months ago probably still overheats)
-no 3 amigos lights (if the PO loved it, they would have fixed it)
That said, I've lost a lot of money on cars so my advice might be dumb.
Edit: LA doesnt have much on CL. Go to SD and talk this person down: