There is something very emotional to me about the front end and body line of the 1973 to 1978 Chevrolet Pickups.

I was walking by my truck this evening and just stopped to stare at the front. I would have just continued to stare at my pickup, but it was getting pretty dark…

Curious about this powerful emotional response, Google called my name and I started browsing images of other trucks from this year range and body style to see if they solicited the same response.

Few of the truck pictures I found on Google tugged at me, until I found three which caught my attention.

Ironically, each of these three trucks gave me that same heart-pull as looking at my own. The primary trait each truck shares with my own was the color, blue. Blue does happen to be my favorite color, and the tone of blue shown on each of these trucks (and mine) is by far my preferred shade of blue, but something rather profound struck me.

Few people know the reason for my fervent love affair with the 1973 to 1978 Chevy truck body style. My Grandfather owned a Blue 1973 Chevrolet Pickup. This was the only truck he owned during the span of my life, and when I spent summers with my grandparents this was the truck he drove me around town in every day. When my Grandpa passed away, his Blue 1973 Truck became my first vehicle.

Every time I see that body line, those two round headlights, the pronounced flat hood with such a powerful ridge running down the middle, and Chevy’s bow-tie emblem dead center, I remember him.

Chevrolet only produced this body style for six years, and few people care about them. Most prefer the more stylish 67-72, or the newer 79-89. For me, that L-shaped body curve and those two round headlights hold a powerful emotional significance. For me, these simple sheet-metal and glass elements call back to some of the fondest memories of my life, with a man I will forever strive to emulate. A man who I idolize even in death. A man whose infrequent and soft words have hopefully shaped me into the man I am today, and prayerfully into a better man tomorrow.

That man. That truck. My Grandfather.

It is with tears in my eyes I finish writing. I have long known I loved these trucks because they reminded me of my grandfather. But until tonight, I never realized how strong the simple design elements of these trucks reminded me of his simple nature, soft personality, and powerful spirit!