A 1931 Ford Model A pickup is the perfect short-distance hauler

Enjoying retirement at a lakeside "camp" nestled in the mountains of northern New England can't possibly be any more idyllic, right? Imagine: Tranquil sunrises with a cup of coffee, hours of boating and fishing, long colorful sunsets while on the dock with early evening libations and, at times, a group of friends. Still, one needs to get to town to restock supplies, and haul the refuse to the local waste transfer station from time to time, so why not do that in a vintage vehicle? That was the logic behind Jamie Longtin's decision to purchase the 1931 Ford Model A pickup featured here.

The story begins on the calming shores of the aptly named Sunset Lake in Benson, Vermont, where Jamie has long maintained a cozy summer cabin away from the hustle and bustle of his winter home in Arizona. Having already purchased and become acquainted with a 1929 Ford Model A Fordor and a 1930 Ford Model A roadster—the latter of which remains at his Arizona residence for "enjoyable winter use"—a Model A pickup seemed the perfect choice as a vehicle he could, "bang around camp in." "Something I could run into town with, and haul the trash to the dump in," Jamie says. "I didn't want another show car, just a mechanically sound, fun vehicle that, if it got scratched, wouldn't cause heartache. Basically, a turn-key-and-go, yet easy-to-maintain truck."

Ford still used a gravity-fed fuel system in 1931, so the tank was still hidden below the top of the cowl. The Model A pickup's cabin is best described as utilitarian, decorated with only a few necessary gauges.

Jamie's search didn't begin in earnest until the summer of 2018, and he eventually responded to a promising ad for a Model A pickup. The Ford was in southern Maine, however, and without a trailer at his immediate disposal, Jamie needed to work out a few details before making the trek to inspect it. Joining Jamie was his brother, a mechanic by trade who offered to lend his opinion prior to purchase.

An aftermarket turn signal system was added in the name of safety.

According to Jamie: "The seller of the Ford was an older gentleman who told me that he'd owned it for about 15 years. Apparently, he didn't use it much. He just used it to give his grandkids rides on the beach whenever they visited. At first glance it looked solid, so I made a comment about it looking like an older restoration, but all he said was that the prior owner had possibly done the work. It was running, but the Ford clearly had an exhaust leak. The seller told me it was because he had put a new muffler on, but didn't put the gasket in. Being as loud as it was, I assumed that to be the case; he gave me the gasket and my brother felt that the four-cylinder engine sounded strong."

The Model A pickup was purchased in October, just prior to departing for the annual winter retreat, so the Ford was carefully placed in winter storage on the lakeside property. Upon Jamie's return, the first thing on his automotive to-do list for the Ford was, in theory, a simple exhaust gasket job, as he explained.

Engine work since purchasing the Ford has been extensive. Initial attempts to solve overheating resulted in a second radiator failure that caused the cylinder head atop the 205.5-cu.in. four-cylinder to crack; leaking coolant left behind tell-tale stains on the block.

"The gasket wasn't the problem with the exhaust leak. If anything, it was a little louder after I added it. I'm familiar enough with Model A's to know what's right and what's wrong, and after doing some investigating, I found that the issue was a warped exhaust manifold. I thought, okay, no problem, until I removed it and discovered that the intake manifold was cracked. In minutes, I went from a missing exhaust gasket to having to swap out the intake and exhaust manifolds. While the parts were on order, I thought I might as well add aftermarket turn signals in the name of safety, even up here in a quiet corner of Vermont.

"When I got it all back together, my brother and his wife came to the camp for a visit, so I thought it was a perfect time for a maiden voyage. My sister-in-law wanted to join me, so I told my brother to keep his phone handy as I checked the fuel tank; it looked to have enough to get me to nearby Orwell to top it off. Well, I didn't get very far before it started to overheat, and of course we never made it to the gas station—it ran out before we got close to it and my brother had to come to the rescue. If that weren't enough, the Ford overheated on the way back and, after further investigating, we determined that the radiator needed to be rebuilt.

The original taillamps were recently replaced with factory-appearing LEDs; the brighter illumination makes the Model A easier to spot by approaching drivers. A small decal on the tailgate issuing a warning that parts may fall off was also added in jest. The owner added that overall Ford's Model A was a sturdy, well-built vehicle that usually handles backcountry road conditions with ease.

"That repaired radiator lasted half of one trip—it overheated again on the way to the dump. I could smell antifreeze as I was driving, but I didn't see a temperature spike on the Moto Meter atop the radiator. I simply assumed the smell was because—having just topped it off—I might have simply overfilled it. Not until I got to a stop sign at the main road did I see smoke billowing around me from all directions. It turns out antifreeze was running out of the bottom end of the radiator where it had been repaired, so I inadvertently cracked the cylinder head when it overheated. Some nice guy helped me push it into the gas station parking lot at the corner. It was a 90-plus-degree day, and there I was with no wallet, no money, a cell phone with no service, and a dump sticker, waiting almost two hours for AAA to tow me back home. I couldn't even buy a bottle of water. The dump is 3 miles away from camp and not once did I think I wouldn't be able to make it back. So, I named the pickup 'Christine' because I swear it's possessed," laughed Jamie.

He was able to quickly locate a replacement cylinder head online, thanks to the Model A's large support community. The head was Magnafluxed—a procedure used to uncover minute, hidden damage—before it was installed on the engine block. Jamie also swapped out the stock taillamps for LED replacement units because, as he laughed, "When you break down a lot, you want the other cars to see you."

Despite the litany of mechanical tribulations, not once has Jamie been dissuaded from the thought of purchasing another Model A Ford. As he explained, "I have two other Model A's that are very roadworthy. This is just one of those 'you get when you pay for' cars. I didn't pay a lot for this pickup at all, and really, despite what it sounds like, I think I have about $1,000 in parts in this thing. If anything, this has been the source of a lot of funny stories if you look at it in the right context. Model A's are such fun vehicles—car or pickup, because they are essentially the same below the bodywork—and they are quite easy to maintain. Just about everything is available for them, so parts are as plentiful as resources are accessible, to step you through things when they do go wrong.

"For instance, after I figured out the cooling and exhaust system problems, the pickup ran smoothly for a few months. It was really enjoyable, just as I hoped. Next on my list for the 2021 season is a complete brake job; after really driving it around it occurred to me what kind of horrible condition they were in, but then, as I was making one last short dump run, the darn Ford stopped running again. From experience, my gut told me that a fried condenser was the culprit this time, which was a bit of a common failure item because of where it's mounted near the engine. You get into the habit of having a couple spares handy.

"A lot of the kinks have been worked out of this one. Like the doors, for instance, which wouldn't shut right. Whoever did the backyard restoration on this installed the door hinges backwards. Turning them around fixed the problem. The paint looks okay, but it's a solid 30-foot job, which means I don't have to worry about trimming the branches back from my camp access road before doing a dump run. What's one more scratch?"

Jamie adds, "I really wanted something I can jump in and drive without too many worries. Whenever I go out in this thing it's always an adventure, if not on the way out, then on the way back. Under its own power or not. In all my other cars I carry a small bag with pieces and parts— ignition parts, head gasket, and stuff like that—in this case I carry a couple of plastic buckets in the back with tools, parts, and water, and I'm only going 3 miles. You never know. But the Model A is a blast to drive, it always gets looks at the dump, and it's a good conversation piece."