Q:
A: By true muscle car standards, most enthusiats would say "no". The 1977 Skylark lacked the power needed to really be classified as a Muscle car in most people's opinion. The most powerful engine available in 1977 was the optional Buick 350 cid V8 with 155 HP. (Keep in mind that the Buick 350 was an entirely different engine than the famous Chevy 350). Can a 155hp car be considered a "Muscle" car. Compare that to today's cars where it's pretty common to find 200-250 Hp V6's in family sedans. A Camry, Accord, or Malibu from today would blow the doors off a Buick Skylark from1977, even if the Skylark had the largest available engine. That being said, the Skylark was essientially the same car as the Chevy Nova, built on the same Platform, and shared many parts. A lot of people consider the Nova a muscle car, although they are usually referring to the late 60's and early 70's models. Also, even though the Skylark left the factory in 1977 with a maximum of 155 Hp. There is A LOT of performance upgrades available to turn a Skylark into a car with musclecar performance. Car makers in the 70's were having a hard time figuring out how to deal with the new emissions standards. Cars were made with lower compression engines, catalytic converters, more restricted exhaust sytems, Smog Pumps, and what seemed like miles, and miles of vacuum tubing, all in an effort to meet new emissions standards. Remove that emissions stuff, free up the exhaust, increase the compression, and install free breather carbs, and intakes, and you'll increase your power and torque greatly. And even if the car isn't a true muscle car, doesn't mean that the car isn't collectible. To find a 77 Skylark in good shape is becoming pretty rare these days. It may be a car worth hanging onto.