Weaknesses and other questions...

[drivesa5]

First off, hi, first post here. I don't have any experience with these cars, so I have some questions to ask people who do. The reason being I have the opportunity to pick up a (I believe) 94 Camry LE v6 wagon auto.

It has some problems, which I'm not that worried about - I think it needs a rear head gasket, some exhaust work of some sort and I know some weatherstripping or something leaks because it had a lovely rear seat pond. I believe it has around 150k miles and has some dents, dings, probably some rust, and is a bit dirty inside, but supposedly runs good (although head gasket has some sort of temporary fix.)

Given it's a little rough around the edges, what would you say it's worth after the fixes?

Next, I have seen the 1mz-fe has either 188 or 190 hp, but couldn't find much about the trans - what trans is it? What I'd really like to know is what kind of power can this setup handle in stock form? What about the axles, transmission, and any other weak links - what have these been proven to handle, where do people typically see breakages, etc? Thanks for any info you can help with or direct me to!!

[bigbird]

the auto tranny will safely hold about 250whp. people have gone over that, but not by much before waring heavy on it. there are parts avalible to build the trans up but most people just swap in the e153 manual tranny.

welcome to TN

[drivesa5]

Thanks for the welcome & reply - that answers one question. How about buildup parts for the auto - do you know where they can be found out of curiousity? How about what is the model/# of the trans? I'm assuming you can get some upgraded frictions & clutches, but are they popular enough to have a manual valvebody available for them? These are probably all too pricey for my purposes anyway, but just wondering.

How much can the e153 typically handle? What can they be found/bought for usually? Also, what did they come in (or are they the 4cyl trans?) Thanks again.