OLDS LEGEND OFFERS TWO SPECIAL CARS

Old Cars Weekly got to meet legendary engine builder Joe Mondello at the 2009 Atlantic City Classic Car Auction in February. Mondello has been involved with high-performance cars since the 1950s. Mondello is well known to high-performance Oldsmobile collectors and had a crowd of fans gathered around him at the East Coast sale. The Mondello Tech Center in Crossville, Tenn. (www.mondello.com) builds the finest racing engines and cylinder heads. The company does blueprinting and design, as well as head porting. Mondello also teaches engine building techniques at his tech center. Mondello had two cars at Atlantic City, both of which he was trying to sell. After the auction, he took the two vehicles home. The first car, a 1971 Olds 4-4-2 hardtop, was bid to $45,000 at the prestigious Borgata sale. It did not change hands. His 1970 Oldsmobile W30 Station Wagon is one of two ever built. This car was constructed for Popular Hot Rodding magazine, as a project car. It took a high bid of $70,000 and did not sell. Mondello said that he would like to find the "right" buyer for each of these special cars.