If you aren’t familiar with the name Jim Taylor, you should be. He is a world-renowned car and automobilia collector based in Gloversville, New York. Through decades of collecting, he has amassed over 120 vehicles and hundreds of items of memorabilia, which he has decided to liquidate. His collection will be sold at no-reserve by Broad Arrow Auctions. The sale is titled, Passion for the Drive: The Cars of Jim Taylor. It will take place on October 14th & 15th and is sure to bring out bidders from around the world. We’ll be highlighting a few of the cars here on Barn Finds and you can see the whole collection on Broad Arrow’s website here. Thanks to Larry D. for the tip on this amazing sale. First up, let’s check out this beautiful 1965 Shelby GT350!
According to the auction article this GT350 was prepped by Shelby American between May and June of 1965 and was shipped to McCoy Motor Company in Anaheim, California. This is a rare “stripe-delete” car and caught the eye of the first owner in December of ’65. In 1967 it was purchased by the second owner and partially disassembled it for an unknown reason. The car remained apart for nearly forty years where it went through a couple of owners where it was re-assembled at some point. In 2012 it was trailered to the Ford Nationals where it was purchased by Jim Taylor before it was unloaded!
Like the rest of the car, the engine remains largely original including the original hollow-letter Cobra valve covers, headers, four-bladed fan. The intake is said to be an original aluminum unit although it is unnumbered. Also under the hood you can see the shock towers where the original Koni shocks still reside.
The interior has original upholstery including Ray Brown seat belts. The 16″ steering wheel retains the original center and horn switch, which is super rare. You’ll pay several thousand dollars for a replacement if you can find one. The car also retains its factory headliner and rear package tray, but the carpet has been replaced.
Overall, this car is considered by Mr. Taylor to be a “driver.” Although it retains some bumps and bruises, the originality of the car equals value. The pre-auction estimate is $450,000 to $500,000!
Wow!
Yeah…WOW!! I’m not a Ford guy but that but who doesn’t like these? It’s perfect just the way it is!
Wow, I didn’t know all of this was near me.
I was one of the lucky ones to see this collection a few weeks ago, and this car up close! He claimed the unrestored cars have a better story to tell than the ones with the shiny new paint. I tend to agree.
Stripes were not delete in 1965,they were an option you had to order.Most 1965 Shelby’s were sent to the shipping lot without over top stripes or fancy wheels..just side stripes and Kelsey-Hayes 15″ steelies.
The deal was Shelby shipped the cars without the stripes, and the dealer could opt to install them. BUT if a dealer ordered five or more GT350s from Shelby in one order, Shelby added the stripes prior to delivery as a bonus.
Are those steelie wheels at least 7 inches wide? I would have thought lighter alum wheels would be STANDARD on a Shelby, as well as a flex or declutching fan to make the car faster.
I would think those wheels & mirror mounted on the fender! are rare on a ’65.
Isn’t the dash mounted horn switch a common hardware store toggle
switch? – must be awkward to use & possibly dangerous if by force of habit you try to press the steering wheel hub instead in an emergency.
The momentary horn switch is a black toggle which is shaped kind of like a canoe paddle. It was probably very commonplace in the 60s (a buck in any hardware store) but I haven’t seen anything similar in years. All the modern ones are cylindrical chromed metal, or very cheap illuminated plastic.
The original look is rare enough now that some of the hot rod/Shelby clone vendors are selling a reproduction switch for around $200. I wouldn’t pay it, bit I guess some would!
And to think, in the early ’70’s I looked at a ’65 GT350 for sale on Bethpage Spagnoli in Melville, NY with an asking price of $3K and didn’t buy it.
Good luck finding a set of those “plain Jane” K/H steel wheels now!
I purchased an unrestored 65 “K” fastback from the original owner last year and it has (5) KH 15″ Shelby wheels. They are billed on the original sales invoice as a dealer installed item.
A set just popped up on BaT for $6000!
Nice car. Unsolicited advice: if you posted more German and Japanese cars, your traffic would increase. We GenX grew up during what you call the malaise era of American cars, which was a golden age for Axis Powers cars. We wanted BMWs and Hondas, hot hatches and mid-engine cars, not muscle cars. If web traffic matters to you, you may consider it. Just my 2 cents. 👍
There is one in town that the owner bought in 1980 without a motor for $1000.00. He found a hi po and built it to about 400hp+/-. The little thing thumps the ground sitting at an idle and is largely original paint that is very patina covered. I’d give my left, you know what, for it.
Kidney?
Arm?
I love this car but I’m really confused as to what happened to cause the damage behind the driver side wheel well in the front. That metal’s been pushed out not in.
The original 4sp has been replaced? By a 5sp box. Wow
So we all know….some crazy with deep pockets will pay the stupid money….my humble opinion is with the considerable damage, & completely wrong 5 speed….not worth near the pre-estimate price….
I am fortunate enough to have met Jim a number of times, and have been to his warehouse to see all his cars. What a collection !! AND stories to accompany each….. Go to the auction website, but first bring a towel to catch the inevitable drool….
As much as I hate auctions, to which I am resorting to an auction for my 67 GT350, I will follow this one!
Thanks for posting, just spent a couple of hours looking at and admiring the collection online….Oh, to have deep pockets, absolutely great collection!!
Actually looking at the other cars in the auction this seems like 1 of the less desirable ones. With all the changes from original and the damage panels I’m not sure it’s worth close to what the estimated price is!