Gidget makes a deal with a surfer to buy his hearse so she can become more independent. However, after making a few payments the surfer sales it to a bunch of boys. Making her point about owning a small part of the hearse the boys decide to let her drive it, a very small part of the time. In the mean time she takes shop class at school to help with the upkeep of the hearse.
Fab British singing duo The Dingbats come to town. Gidget wants to find out if she really digs the Dingbats or if it's just because grown-ups don't. She hatches an elaborate scheme to meet the Dingbats—but then causes so much trouble for ""the boys"" that the only way to fix it is for her and Larue to disguise themselves as The Dingbats!
Gidget gets a late evening phone call from a friend to hurry over to her house. She runs out of the house in her pajamas and a raincoat, not knowing that her friend wants her to go out of town with her to get a car. Along the way Gidget keeps trying to call home to tell Russ where she is but, it just ends up causing friction with the girls dad. Eventually they end up just going back home without a car.