If we’re being honest, not every home-built project car needs a fire-breathing V-8. Maybe you just need a reliably built, roadworthy V-8 to get you down the highway—fire to be added at a later date.

We recently scored a 1974 Chevy Nova barn find for just $1,500—a true time capsule that had been sitting untouched for decades. Now we’re turning this budget score into a street machine and heading to ...