As the host of this video says – it seems that you can’t find a car that runs and drives with a title for under $1,000 these days. So, in order to find a cheap car for a muscle car project under that magical number, something will have to give.

In this case, Rustomods on YouTube – who are not strangers to classic cars or modifying cars in projects – jump on a super-cheap 1976 Buick Skylark in a junkyard for just $250 that runs and drives. Unsurprisingly, at this price the car isn’t great, and will need a lot of work even to become properly drivable.

It isn’t their first choice, the host adds, but this 70s car got based on the same foundations as the period Chevy Chevelle and for $250 it is still a bargain. Here’s what they have in store for this tired machine.

Muscle Car Build For $250: The 1976 Buick Skylark

$250 is just the start, as now the car will need plenty of work before any performance parts can even get considered. It arrives home and the first thing it needs is help to start – the patina on the outside and tired interior shows its age, but it does start up.

A new battery and some new tires are first on the agenda, but the replacement tires are old and need replacing after a few feet of driving. So far, it is on its second set of replacement rubber.

It becomes clear that there is another issue: this Buick’s 5-liter V8 has a timing problem, that could stem from the carburetor, so the team will need to get these basic things sorted first.

’76 Buick Skylarks came with a range of GM V8 engines up to 5.7-liter in capacity, and there was also a straight-six engine; the 5-liter in this car made around 140 hp in its day.

What Is The Cheapest You Can Do A Muscle Car Build For?

As we see, the aim is to get the car running properly, so they can create a baseline car that will set a benchmark on the drag strip – once they have that quarter mile time, they can perform the next step.

The next step will be to carry out an LS-swap, which means putting in a newer GM engine that will provide at least double the power and open the car up to more possibilities of upgrading. That will cost more money, unless they have a spare engine lying around, but the idea is to create a muscle car on a budget.

What the team want is a street/strip racer that can do burnouts and rips, and following the LS-swap they will continue to upgrade the car. For now, it needs work – a lot of work.

An LS-swap’s price depends on the cost of the engine and manual labor: if you can carry out the transplant yourself the only real cost is for the V8 and any accessories; a good crate motor could be $5,000 or more while a cheap engine core can be as little as $1,000.