Many of you have heard the name Joe Mondello, but aren't sure of who he is, or why his name is so well-known. Joe Mondello's first job in the automotive industry was in 1950, when at the age of 14, he began porting and relieving flat-head engines for Jack Kennedy Automotive. By 1951, Joe was racing at airports and drag strips across Southern California in a '40 Ford coupe, powered by a 303 cid flat head Ford with Stromberg carburetors, Edelbrock heads/manifold and an Engle camshaft.

Before he was 18 years old, he had already ported and relieved more than 50 Ford flat head blocks for the finest engine builders of the era. By the 1960's, Joe worked part time for Carroll Shelby, building performance heads and engines for the Shelby Cobras that placed 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th at the LeMans Grand Prix in 1964. Traco Engineering, known at the time for their winning Indy and Sprint cars, used Mondello head designs exclusively. "Back in those days, our shop's clientele read like a 'who's who' of racing greats."

Joe was also responsible for many of GM's head designs; he created the open chamber big block Chevy head and piston combo (before Chevrolet) and the small block Chevy combustion chamber (known back then as the "Posi-Flow" chamber) that is still used by Chevrolet and Dart today. By the late '60's and early '70's, the name Mondello was recognized by the Mondello and Matsubara Blown Fuel Altered that captured two national event titles (NHRA and IHRA) and became the fastest wedge-head Chevrolet, running a 7.24 E.T. @ 213 mph at the 1969 U.S. Nationals. In addition, the first 7, 6, and 5-second Top Fuel runs and the first 200 mph runs in Top Gas, Top Fuel, Injected Fuel and Fuel Altered were all accomplished using Mondello cylinder heads. Most of these records were set by none other than "Big Daddy" Don Garlits, making Mondello cylinder heads the most widely recognized in the country.

By 1968, Joe was heavily involved in R&D work for Oldsmobile, and by the early '70's, he and his son Bernard Mondello began breaking records on the water, too. The father and son team competed at the Parker Dam 9-Hour Enduro, winning the Jet Boat class with an Olds 455 in 1972, and again in '75 and '76 with a dual-quad 500 cid big block Chevrolet.

Today, Joe Mondello celebrates over 40 years in the high-performance manufacturing industry, although his actual involvement in racing and high performance spans 45 years. At 62 years of age, Joe still prides himself in building the best cylinder heads and engines money can buy, and offers the largest and most complete line of high-performance Olds parts and accessories in the world.