I knew Joe Mondello for 50 years. Great man. He listened then commented. A mentor, and my 455 Olds engine is a tribute to him. Godspeed, Dr. Olds.
Joe has been the guru for Oldsmobile racers for decades. He will be missed. May you rest in peace Joe. My condolences to his family and many fans. Frank
Sad news....back in '79 we hauled our '38 Ft Bertram offshore powerboat from NJ out to California for a race and Mondello let us store it in his parking lot for the day. Wasn't Olds powered but he liked anything that went fast ...he let all the workers stop what they were doing and come outside and check it out. Good guy.....RIP.
I had the privilege to have known and sold high performance parts to Joe for many,many years. 3 years ago he and Mike at his new Crossville TN facility built the Buick Nailhead that is in my Sedan, a true work of art. He was a great guy, told it like it really was, and always was a true friend.
So sorry to hear this,.. Prayers for his family and close friends,... As this must be a great loss for them. (as well as Hot Rodding,...)
I learned how to port cylinder heads from Joe, went to his class when he was in Paso Robles. My brother and I went down to Tennessee to his blueprinting class a few years back. Nothing like spending a day learning about engines with Joe, and then having a beer and doing some fishing with him after the day was done. He was a good friend and always willing to share what he knew. He was always trying to learn new things and keep advancing high performance. RIP Joe, Thanks!
Damn,sad news. You left a lot of good memories,Joe. My first racing heads were round port Mondellos.Really woke the 287" up.
Here are a few photo's from the reunions. Thats Joe his wife Mary and grandson in the altered. Then some with Joe in the altered at the reunion. One with Joe behind the altered at the Winternationals. Godspeed my friend!!!
<TABLE id=post6415621 class=tborder border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" align=center><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #e5e5e5 0px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #e5e5e5 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #e5e5e5 0px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: #e5e5e5 1px solid" class=alt2 width=175> </TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e5e5e5 1px solid" id=td_post_6415621 class=alt1><!-- icon and title --><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Mazooma1<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_6415621", true); </SCRIPT> Said it best, Legend-Respect-Hero........ R.I.P. Mr.Mondello (Dr Olds) God Speed and all our prayers. Man I love me some OLDSMOBILE power and he got me hooked on it years ago.. Thanks Doc.
There is a side to most that many never see. I knew he was somebody I needed to meet. My condolences to his family and friends.
Had the priveledge to sit at the same table with him a couple of reunions ago at Ma' Greens Thursday Dinner and he was a joy to talk to despite all my dumb questions! Thoughts and Prayers to his Family and friends Vaya Con Dios
What a shame , really nice guy , he came by my Pit several times at the Hot Rod Reunion when I campaigned the Hummer Anglia, Joe ported the head for Becker & O'Connell who built the car in the 60's, Joe offered to port my head if I ever decided to go back to a Big Ford 6 . What a gent , He will be greatly missed. RIP Joe , condolences to his family & friends.
I had the pleasure of meeting Joe some year back at the Oval Track Trade Show in Daytona. We talked about Hudson Hornet motors and other varied subjects. Made my weekend. Rest In Peace Mr. Mondello
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