1976 Mercedes Benz 450SEL Daily Driver- First owned by Pres & CEO of Turtle Wax

1976 Mercedes-Benz S-Class SEL Description

This is my 1976 450 SEL.
This car was originally owned by the President and CEO of Turtle Wax and I have all appropriate documentation to support that fact - including the factory metal warranty tag stamped with "Turtle Wax"
My understanding was that it was given to one of the Staff, then I bought it from him. I had to travel to Chicago to get it (Turtle Wax is headquartered in the Chicago land area)
This cars body was meticulously maintained and still wears a thick coat of wax - it shines like brand new. The body is practically rust free - with only a couple tiny bubbles - one next to the sunroof and another by one of the headlights.
However, being a Chicago land car there was some rust damage to the floorboards. This damage has been professionally repaired with new sheet metal with new undercoating applied to the new sheet metal.
It has the Euro headlights, which was a special order on a North American model - it still has the original car phone installed :)
It also has:
New everything for the brakes
New everything for the fuel system
New correct Michelin tires
This car runs perfect and I am driving it as my daily driver. Fly in - drive it home with complete confidence.
This car rides like a dream. It is powerful, all of the power windows work great, the AC is cold, the heater works good, the wipers work, the original Becker Stereo sounds great.
All lights work great, turn signals, brake lights, reverse lights, dash lights all work great.
All gauges work great - even the clock keeps good time.
This car's speedo works great, and the Odometer reads 113K but just started sticking intermittently - my guess is that the actual mileage is closer to 115K.
This car is a PERFECT candidate for restoration.
THINGS THAT STILL NEED ATTENTION:
The heater and AC both work great - however the climate control valve needs to be replaced and is currently bypassed, The heater core is controlled by an manual shut off valve under the hood. The good news is that professionally rebuilt climate control valves only cost 400.00.
There is a small ripple in the right rear quarter where someone backed into the side of the Mercedes.
The vacuum controlled power antenna is stuck in the fully extended position.
The vacuum controlled sunroof used to work, but I haven't checked it recently. It is fully closed with no leaks at all.
The foam in the seats needs a little refreshing.
The rear window, although is great condition, is starting to delaminate on the bottom.
The cruise control will accelerate the car like it should, but will not maintain a speed. I believe it is a vacuum hose, but have not totally investigated....
It is hard to find a 1976 Mercedes in this condition and even harder to find one that is in perfect running condition like this one is.