Little Peppy the Twoth

This '69 AMC Rambler was my cross-country adventure car. With a little bitty pup tent and a cooler in the back seat, I drove it many thousands of miles in the late 70s.

The horn, heater and speedometer didn't work. You don't really need a heater. You can learn to drive without a speedometer. And driving without a horn greatly enhances one's defensive driving skills. Still, for safety's sake, I devised what I called a manual horn: I'd lean out the window and scream, "HONNNNK!"

It also had funny windshield wipers. They worked off of a vacuum in the manifold (at least, I think that's what I was told)...which meant that the wipers only worked when you took your foot OFF the gas pedal. Made driving in the rain very exciting.

Little Peppy had a simple six-banger, and even a girl person like me could change the oil or replace the starter. And notice the vent windows? Back before air conditioning, they were very efficient cooling systems. It was a low-end, generic sort of car and yet, with that rebuilt starter, it was as reliable as Old Faithful and never left me stranded.