Hubert Platt’s Georgia Shaker III is one of the more interesting door slammers to come out of the mid-1960s. Platt was a southern match-bash star who had tasted the sweetness of a factory deal in the early 1960s with Chevrolet. It was then that the legend of the Georgia Shaker name was born. The first was actually a 1963 Z-11 Chevy. Platt’s name is linked to Fords and that makes sense because after the Z-11 it was all blue ovals.

In 1964 he would run a Ford Thunderbolt and his name would appear frequently in the pages or regional and national drag racing publications. He was one of the best four speed men in the country and was every bit the competitor as Ronnie Sox and others of his ilk. When Ford built a few Falcons with SOHC engines in them for the exploding A/FX class, Platt naturally requested one. He was denied, but not defeated.

Platt proceeded to construct his own A/FX car in the basement of his house. As the legend goes, the working space was so confined that he actually had to roll the car outside to assemble it. The car you’ll see in the gallery is that car. The Falcon was a stock wheelbase machine when first built, but later Platt moved the rear axle forward to complete the AWB look that was so popular in this era.

Interestingly, Platt’s car was powered by a 427, but not a SOHC motor. He had to build his own wedge engine. Topped with mechanical fuel injection and backed by a four speed transmission, the car was a wheel standing terror that quickly outclassed the mighty SOHC powered factory cars.

Up front the suspension was leaf springs and an Econoline van axle that Platt lopped six inches out of the center and welded back together. Inside the car a three point roll bar built of exhaust tubing (by Platt’s own admission!) served as “protection” for the driver.

It’s insane to think about, but this very car ran 9.20s at peak performance. Nine-frigging-twenties on nightmare tires, on nightmare tracks, in virtual darkness at many places, and in front of crowds across the country who found a hero in the guy that got snubbed and instead of going away, decided to kick the big boy’s ass.

Ford took quick notice of this well coiffed racer who was making them look bad, and in the finest fashion, brought him into the factory fold, unofficially at first with some back door help and then later in 1966 they picked him to run a Holman-Moody build Mustang with their full factory backing.

Hubert Platt raced hard until 1977 when he finally decided he had grown weary of the constant traveling involved with bring a professional driver. In the 1970s Platt’s racing activity centered around Pro Stock.

Through all of that, this killer car was sitting in a barn, gathering dust. It was discovered and purchased by a fellow a few years back and aside from a little touch up on the lettering, it is exactly as found. How neat is that?!

With respect to southern door slammer legends, they don’t come much bigger or cooler than Hubert Platt. He took on the big company and beat them handily at their own game on their own turf. Platt’s Falcon would be considered a death trap by modern drag racing construction standards, but in 1965, this was rocket science cool. To us, it still is.

Did we mention the part that Platt used to do his burnouts through the rosin with the freakin’ door open? Like we said, legend.

HIT THE LINK BELOW TO SEE OUR GALLERY OF PHOTOS FEATURING THIS KILLER CAR –