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
>
>
