Zak I am interested in building or buying (have not decided which yet, at
least that is what I tell my wife)a top notch reliable 455 for my Coach. I
have access to a very good local machine shop complete with dyno, clean room
and the works. The guy that owns it and runs it builds NASCAR engines now
but is not knowledgable about the 455. I am looking for knowledge now and
Mondello has it. There are things he does to the 455 that no one is even
aware of. He knows all of the tricks learned from 40 years of building them.
However I am aware that he is not the only source of good parts for the 455.
For example few builders know that the best crank for the 455 is one out of
a 1966-67 toronado 425. It is a forged crank and bullet proof. You reduce
the displacement ny 30 inches but gain a lot of reliability. It also revs
higher.
One thing for sure if you buy one of his engines you are getting the best
technology on the 455 available at this time. His engines are bullet proof
as he puts them together right.
I don't necessarily agree that his prices are out of line however for what
you are getting. Compare his prices to Caspro at $4500 for the engine plus
$500 core charge and than a crate charge on top of that. It has no where
near the quality of parts or hand work that the Mondello engine has.
Mondellos engine is $6500 with no core charge. To me it would be worth the
$1500 extra. Peace of mind!
Just my opinion.
>Tom,
>
>We have Mondello parts in our engine (heads, etc). It is pretty hard not
>to. There aren't many Olds engine builders around. It seems like Mondello
>is a pretty good salesman from what I hear on this list. Mondello is
>interested in the GMC market because he sees people willing to spend
>upwards of $40,000 on them to fix them up. He sees the market as a way to
>sell very high dollar engines. The typical Olds engine buyer is not going
>to be interested in spending this kind of money. The only market even
>close to the GMC market is racing. Racers will also spend anything on the
>cars. Notice that this is the other market Mondello caters to. Both
>racers and GMCers are somewhat addicted to their vehicles.
>
>IMHO, Mondello uses that addiction to his advantage. He charges top dollar
>for engines. He charges more than top dollar for parts so that you are more
>likely to have him do the engine. Our engine builder loved him in the
>beginning but grew very frustrated by the end of the rebuilding our engine.
> Small items that Mondello was the only one to sell or have knowledge about
>were often packaged with other items that could have been purchased
>locally. This way, you had to buy the whole package instead of just what
>you needed. This meant you paid Mondello prices for everything. Our
>engine builder had to buy the whole gasket set just to get the separately
>packaged neoprene rear main seal. The rear main seal part # ended up
>crossing over to a Ford seal which actually could have been purchased
>locally had we known (notice he didn't mention it).
>
>Don't get me wrong. I am not saying his stuff isn't good. IMO, he is the
>most respected Olds engine builders in the world, and his stuff is top
>notch. I am saying, however, that you are not only paying for top notch
>stuff. You are paying for the respect he has. Mondello knows this and
>charges accordingly. It's like buying a pair of LEE jeans. They may not
>be any better than another brand, but you are going to pay more for them
>anyway. On the other hand, you know you're not going to get stuck with
>junk like you could with an unknown brand. This may or may not make the
>extra price worth it to the individual considering the purchase.
>
>Zak
>
>
>>It would be interesting to see how many have the Mondello engines.
>>
>>>
>>Tom & Marg Warner
>>Vernon Center NY
>>1976 palmbeach
>>
>>
>
>
Tom & Marg Warner
Vernon Center NY
1976 palmbeach
least that is what I tell my wife)a top notch reliable 455 for my Coach. I
have access to a very good local machine shop complete with dyno, clean room
and the works. The guy that owns it and runs it builds NASCAR engines now
but is not knowledgable about the 455. I am looking for knowledge now and
Mondello has it. There are things he does to the 455 that no one is even
aware of. He knows all of the tricks learned from 40 years of building them.
However I am aware that he is not the only source of good parts for the 455.
For example few builders know that the best crank for the 455 is one out of
a 1966-67 toronado 425. It is a forged crank and bullet proof. You reduce
the displacement ny 30 inches but gain a lot of reliability. It also revs
higher.
One thing for sure if you buy one of his engines you are getting the best
technology on the 455 available at this time. His engines are bullet proof
as he puts them together right.
I don't necessarily agree that his prices are out of line however for what
you are getting. Compare his prices to Caspro at $4500 for the engine plus
$500 core charge and than a crate charge on top of that. It has no where
near the quality of parts or hand work that the Mondello engine has.
Mondellos engine is $6500 with no core charge. To me it would be worth the
$1500 extra. Peace of mind!
Just my opinion.
>Tom,
>
>We have Mondello parts in our engine (heads, etc). It is pretty hard not
>to. There aren't many Olds engine builders around. It seems like Mondello
>is a pretty good salesman from what I hear on this list. Mondello is
>interested in the GMC market because he sees people willing to spend
>upwards of $40,000 on them to fix them up. He sees the market as a way to
>sell very high dollar engines. The typical Olds engine buyer is not going
>to be interested in spending this kind of money. The only market even
>close to the GMC market is racing. Racers will also spend anything on the
>cars. Notice that this is the other market Mondello caters to. Both
>racers and GMCers are somewhat addicted to their vehicles.
>
>IMHO, Mondello uses that addiction to his advantage. He charges top dollar
>for engines. He charges more than top dollar for parts so that you are more
>likely to have him do the engine. Our engine builder loved him in the
>beginning but grew very frustrated by the end of the rebuilding our engine.
> Small items that Mondello was the only one to sell or have knowledge about
>were often packaged with other items that could have been purchased
>locally. This way, you had to buy the whole package instead of just what
>you needed. This meant you paid Mondello prices for everything. Our
>engine builder had to buy the whole gasket set just to get the separately
>packaged neoprene rear main seal. The rear main seal part # ended up
>crossing over to a Ford seal which actually could have been purchased
>locally had we known (notice he didn't mention it).
>
>Don't get me wrong. I am not saying his stuff isn't good. IMO, he is the
>most respected Olds engine builders in the world, and his stuff is top
>notch. I am saying, however, that you are not only paying for top notch
>stuff. You are paying for the respect he has. Mondello knows this and
>charges accordingly. It's like buying a pair of LEE jeans. They may not
>be any better than another brand, but you are going to pay more for them
>anyway. On the other hand, you know you're not going to get stuck with
>junk like you could with an unknown brand. This may or may not make the
>extra price worth it to the individual considering the purchase.
>
>Zak
>
>
>>It would be interesting to see how many have the Mondello engines.
>>
>>>
>>Tom & Marg Warner
>>Vernon Center NY
>>1976 palmbeach
>>
>>
>
>
Tom & Marg Warner
Vernon Center NY
1976 palmbeach
