A Club for American Car Enthusiasts
Tim's Corner
Snappy Service was "the" place to see and be seen in the hottest, coolest cars in Little Rock. It was the typical curb service diner of the 50's and 60's where skimpy clad girls brought food to your car and served it on a tray attached to your car door. Somewhat like today's Sonic Drive-In, but at Snappy's everyone backed his or her car into the allotted slot. Of course, backing in was designed to give you a bird's eye view of the cars that circled the island, circled the block and returned again and again all night. Because Snappy's employed an off-duty police officer to prevent loitering, you quickly learned to stretch your food order, so you could linger in your spot for long periods of time. We usually started with an order of fries or a coke. Then moved up to a burger after getting an evil eye from the officer. And finally, a soft ice cream cone could extend our stay for another 15 minutes. After an hour or so, we'd be forced to join the parade of cars circling and circling. But of course, circling Snappy's was just as much a part of the ritual as eating and watching. Without a doubt, anyone who had a cool car made it through Snappy's on a Friday or Saturday night. For a young boy of 14 a night at Snappy's was very, very exciting and special. Two years later, I owned my own car, a 1957 Plymouth. And I began the weekend ritual myself. The Plymouth was "tricked" out as best I could afford at the time: bronze-gold paint, souped up V-8, 4-bar flipper hubcaps, white wall tires, twin pipes and a unique 2-speed button transmission. Sadly, by the time I graduated from high school, Snappy's was no longer around. Replaced by fast food restaurants. And an era in American motoring history was gone forever. While a few Snappy Service type restaurants can still be found today, most serve as novelties in theme parks. But they will always remain in the hearts and minds of hot rodders who experienced this phenomena first hand. Today, I own a customized 1950 Hudson. It's got most of the '50s customizing touches I love: shaved emblems and door handles, fender skirts, lake pipes, spot lights, flames and a beefy 500 cubic inch Cadillac engine. It may not be as cool as I remember the '32, because memories are hard to compete with. But, for sure, when I drive my Hudson I feel just like the same 14 year-old kid that sat in my brothers' car on that unforgettable night in Little Rock. I'll never forget it. Long live the rodders dream. 
The day I knew I became a hot rodder for life.
by Tim Irby
The year was 1961 and I was sitting in my brother's 1953 Plymouth eating a burger and drinking a chocolate milk shake when a full fender, cobalt blue '32 Ford 5-window coupe turned the corner and drove through Snappy Service Drive-in Restaurant in downtown Little Rock, Arkansas. It was one of the most memorable nights of my life and the beginning of my real love for hot rods. I can vividly picture it today: chrome reversed wheels, white tuck and rolled interior, the sides of the hood were open exposing the headers that helped create the low growl coming from the glass pack mufflers and twin pipes. What a sound. What a car.
That night, I probably witnessed forty or fifty cool cars cruising through the popular drive-in. Few, if none, could match the '32 Ford nor the hundreds of high-dollar cars seen in today's hobby magazines. But each had its own personality and special owner touches. I knew that someday I would own a hot rod as cool as the '32.