f you were lucky enough to have been present for the muscle car era, you remember the car that made an impact on you. It may have been a high-winding L79 car, or it could have been an axle-snapping big-block, but one thing is for sure—you remember it. For Jim Reynolds, who his friends call “Cat,” there were some local examples that fed his gearhead appetite, but the one that means the most is the 1967 Chevelle SS396 on these pages. It’s a car that was used for daily transportation, a little bit of street racing, and it even played a role in his wedding day back in 1990 when he married his wife, Patricia. Today, the car is restored and better than ever, thanks to a few great friends who remember the car in all of its various stages.

Cat’s journey with this Chevelle began in November of 1969. He was 17 years old and hustling hard at the local grocery store, working as many hours as he could get and mowing yards on the side. At the time, his household included a 1955 Chevy and a 1962 Impala, but his hard work inspired the idea of finding something a little more modern. Lucky for him, used cars were awesome in the late ’60s and he found a big-block Chevelle that was within his reach. The ’55 was sacrificed as a trade-in, and the resulting monetary contribution came out to $95.95 per month. He drove the car every day for seven years, muscling through the OPEC oil crisis, rising insurance costs, and what he thought was expensive high-test gasoline.