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.”