Northeast Texas Community College and the Carroll Shelby Automotive Program will be featured nationally at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, this week. A fully-restored 1968 Shelby GT350 Convertible will be sold on NTCC’s behalf at approximately 6:30 p.m. CST this Friday, January 26, in Barrett-Jackson’s no-reserve charity auction. One hundred percent of the proceeds of the hammer price will provide scholarships and unique learning opportunities for students in the Carroll Shelby Automotive Program. Aaron Shelby will introduce the car on behalf of NTCC and the Carroll Shelby Foundation.
“We’re excited that Barrett-Jackson agreed to auction the Shelby gifted to us by Barry Smith and Legendary GT,” said Jon McCullough, Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Northeast Texas Community College. “This beautiful car will help fuel studies by students who want a career in the automotive industry. Carroll Shelby would have been 101 years old in 2024. We’re continuing his rich legacy by teaming with the Shelby Foundation and Barrett-Jackson to raise money for the automotive technology program he approved. We appreciate Aaron and everyone at Shelby who helped make this possible.”
The 350GT was built for and donated to NTCC by Barry Smith, owner of Legendary GT Continuation Cars. They finished the body in Wimbledon white with all-new fiberglass panels, including reinforced shock towers and Shelby-specific parts. The 302 Ford small block engine has a 4-speed top loader manual transmission. They used new, old stock, refurbished, original, or remanufactured parts, including the differential, brake, suspension, fuel, cooling, and wiring harness. Beth VanDyke, an alumnus of the Shelby Automotive Program, was on the build team for this car as part of an internship experience at Legendary GT Continuation Cars. Click for the Video of Beth!
The Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale is a week-long event televised on the History Channel and FYI network. Those wishing to watch the sale of NTCC’s car live can view it on FYI or the Barrett-Jackson website.