If the Orkin man showed up in a given neighborhood, residents would likely cower by the windows, hoping he didn’t pull into the house next door. This image of an individual tasked with killing vermin and extricating wildlife is hard to shake, but behind the Orkin name was obviously a successful CEO. This 1977 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL is said to have belonged to Sanford Orkin, the founder of the 8,000 employee company based in Atlanta. Find the Mercedes here on eBay with an opening bid of $3K and no activity yet.
The vehicle sports the ugly U.S. safety bumpers but retains European-spec headlights. It would seem likely that an individual of means like Orkin might request a gray market model, so there’s a chance this example gets away with less restrictive emissions equipment and no heavy safety bars in the doors. The body looks largely rust-free, although the Bundt wheels could stand a cleaning. Like so many cars from this era, the power retracting antenna is stuck in the up position.
The seller says the 450SEL was discovered in a West Virginia barn, which is a long way from Orkin headquarters. Perhaps there was an infestation to suss out? Regardless, the car received some basic maintenance that helped it pass Maryland’s strict inspections process, including a new tie rod, fresh brakes, and fluid changes. The odometer reading was noted at the time it went into barn storage as 163,404 on a claimed working odometer; it no longer records mileage, but the seller says it hasn’t traveled far since removal from the barn,
The interior is perhaps where the W116 needs the most help. Like so many other German cars from this era, the dashboard is cracked and will require replacement. There’s lots of sun damage, notably on the back parcel shelf underneath the rear glass and the top of the bench seat suffers from exposure as well. This isn’t quite a celebrity connection, but it would still make for a fine story at the next Mercedes-Benz club gathering; for a rust-free car that runs and drives, the opening bid and no reserve seems fair to me.
Jeff, thanks for this, these cars are monsters in sheep’s clothing, the person who buys it will have much joy with it, simply take it to the nearest Mercedes dealer, let them do stem to stern on it, pay the bucks, and you are set. Good opening bid. And the headlights are great; if you can, replace the nightmare bumpers with the slim bumpers available here in the US. Never mind the mileage. You’ll love it.
No need to remove the “nightmare bumpers”. They actually protect the US models nicely from getting bumped by careless drivers.
The car must have been in the sun for quite some time looking at the rear parcel shelve and the dashboard. MBZ had a problem with blue dashboards, but this is one of the worst I have ever seen.
The real “nightmare” will be fixing the Chrysler based climate control. Very few people have the knowledge to repair them. If the price stays belowp $ 5k it’s worth buying and saving it.
I had a ‘78 like this. Only problem was with a cat converter. There’s one on each side of the exhaust manifold . Weld broke lose at the flange. Got it re welded for $8.00, and away we went for another 50,000 Miles. Fine cars.
watch out for the floors, they may look ok, but if the rubber coating is soft underneath you got rust worm problems
Always liked these
Relisted with a Buy It Now of $4500:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/163155369561?ViewItem=&vxp=mtr&item=163155369561
Same kind JR Ewing drove
The “Orkin Man” Mercedes belongs to me. It is about to go back into storage for the winter if I don’t sell it beforehand.
By the way, the original owner, Mr. Sanford Orkin, is still alive (87 years old as of this writing). I sent him photos of the car and his secretary responded that Mr Orkin was “glad to see the car was still on the road”.
If anyone here is interested in it, drop me a note at
bogies3.geo@yahoo.com
Thanks.
The “Orkin Man” Mercedes just came out of winter storage. It seems the starter needs replaced, so I just ordered one. I’m going to put the car on the market once the starter is replaced, or if someone here wants to buy the car and save me the time and money of replacing the starter, I’ll give you the starter to put on.
I’m open for offers. Contact me.
@Richard – please consider listing it as a feature. It’ll get a loot more views than here in the comments. https://barnfinds.com/sell/