RIP Joe Mondello
Thread Starter
Premium Supporting Vendor
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,485
Likes: 81
From: Santo TX
RIP Joe Mondello
http://www.sema.org/sema-enews/2011/...lo-passes-away
Joe Mondello, known in the performance aftermarket world as "Dr. Oldsmobile," passed away on April 8 at the age of 74 following complications from surgery.
Born in Los Angeles in 1936, Mondello's love affair with the automobile began at the age of 13 and led to a 54-year career as an engine builder, a head porter and a teacher.
Mondello's mechanical talents and passion for drag racing combined with his experience served him well when Oldsmobile was looking for engine builders to port and polish cylinder heads to increase performance for its newly created Oldsmobile Performance Parts Division. Out of all the shops Oldsmobile tapped to increase power through modified heads, Mondello's heads made the most power. It was his notable work on Oldsmobile V8s that earned him the "Dr. Oldsmobile" nickname.
He established the Mondello Technical School in 1996 to help teach anyone willing to learn the art of performance engine building. Most recently, Mondello was focused on the Quarter Mile Foundation and the "PROJECT 1320" drag-racing documentary.
Read more about Mondello on the Hemmings Blog website.
Those wishing to donate in Joe’s memory in lieu of flowers can do so to two of Joe’s favorite charities:
St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital
P.O. Box 1000 , Dept 142
Memphis, TN 38148
(Make check payable to “For direct care of children”)
-Or-
Quarter Mile Foundation
6210 Beverly Ave.
Parma Heights, OH 44129
Joe Mondello, known in the performance aftermarket world as "Dr. Oldsmobile," passed away on April 8 at the age of 74 following complications from surgery.
Born in Los Angeles in 1936, Mondello's love affair with the automobile began at the age of 13 and led to a 54-year career as an engine builder, a head porter and a teacher.
Mondello's mechanical talents and passion for drag racing combined with his experience served him well when Oldsmobile was looking for engine builders to port and polish cylinder heads to increase performance for its newly created Oldsmobile Performance Parts Division. Out of all the shops Oldsmobile tapped to increase power through modified heads, Mondello's heads made the most power. It was his notable work on Oldsmobile V8s that earned him the "Dr. Oldsmobile" nickname.
He established the Mondello Technical School in 1996 to help teach anyone willing to learn the art of performance engine building. Most recently, Mondello was focused on the Quarter Mile Foundation and the "PROJECT 1320" drag-racing documentary.
Read more about Mondello on the Hemmings Blog website.
Those wishing to donate in Joe’s memory in lieu of flowers can do so to two of Joe’s favorite charities:
St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital
P.O. Box 1000 , Dept 142
Memphis, TN 38148
(Make check payable to “For direct care of children”)
-Or-
Quarter Mile Foundation
6210 Beverly Ave.
Parma Heights, OH 44129
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,247
Likes: 471
From: Glen Allen, VA
I had not heard this sad news. He was truly a legend in the field. While I'm a lot younger than he was, I've followed him passively for years, as my first car was a 71 Cutlass. I've always been interested in what he was up to. RIP Mr. Mondello!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,812
Likes: 2,029
From: eastern NC
In 1970 I found a set of his heads for a 327 sitting on a shelf in a gas station with a couple of bent valves. I remember seeing the ports and how big they were and just being in awe. The guy said he would take $100 for them so I figured I'd just put a few inexpensive valves in them and have a good set of heads for my '63. I decided to take them to our local machinist and have him check them out to be safe.
The machinist proceeded to give me a class on just what these heads were worth (power wise of course) and who this guy Joe Mondello was. After replacing a couple of not too inexpensive Manley valves, valve guides and planing the heads to true them I had what was then about the best and biggest set of heads available at the time for a 327. All of this for about half what a new set of his heads could be bought for... if you could get them.
I still have the heads and they still look wild for their day, but alas technology has caught up with them. By the mid 70's Mondello had begun to concentrate on Oldsmobile's, but I suspect he still cranked out a few sets of SBC heads when asked. Unfortunately most Chevy folks don't realize that in the 60's he was as famous for his SBC heads as he was for anything else.
RIP and May God bless him and his family... GUSTO
The machinist proceeded to give me a class on just what these heads were worth (power wise of course) and who this guy Joe Mondello was. After replacing a couple of not too inexpensive Manley valves, valve guides and planing the heads to true them I had what was then about the best and biggest set of heads available at the time for a 327. All of this for about half what a new set of his heads could be bought for... if you could get them.
I still have the heads and they still look wild for their day, but alas technology has caught up with them. By the mid 70's Mondello had begun to concentrate on Oldsmobile's, but I suspect he still cranked out a few sets of SBC heads when asked. Unfortunately most Chevy folks don't realize that in the 60's he was as famous for his SBC heads as he was for anything else.
RIP and May God bless him and his family... GUSTO
