azehr

Thanks for the response, and I apologize for my delayed response. I just recently found out that my engine and trans were swapped out as well. Did the customer you mentioned take any legal action? do you have any other details that might help me put together a case? im thinking if there is multiple people who go in together on this it may workout better. I am going to be looking for an attorney that can take the case as fraud because I lost my original engine and trans and now my car is devalued. I haven't even got it running yet due to running into multiple issues and running out of money. Im hoping to get it running within the next month.

azehr

That's sad, sounds like we got the same experience, is your engine the one you sent him still, or did it get swapped, is it still running? did you have any follow up dealings with Lynn?

matt69olds

I know Joe Mondello son Bernard is a member, I’m curious what his thoughts are on the way Lynn is running things.


I’m also curious, has anyone has positive dealings with Lynn?

azehr

Thank you, The engine number is 38M365278, The Trans number is 37M374110, and the VIN is 344879Z135703. It seems these numbers are different in the way of how to code it that say the example of 69 OG-XXX.

rocketscientis

..wrong engine & trans may hav vin on them from original vehicle & title search could help track them down but beware it _#s are on hot sheet - stolen ...say by to whole engine / tranz..maybe car
not certain if that helps
Larceny buy trick with amount of this size is san quentin time
..do us all a favor

azehr

Gary, are you interested in going together to get an attorney? Have you done anything since the last time we posted about this? my Dad and I are doing some homework to find out how to, and if its worth going after him. Please let me know what if anything you have done, and if your still interested in pursuing him.

OLDSter Ralph

dennis_30281

Check my post in the fall of 2019 about Ross Racing engines. I compared Ross Racing engines to Mondello and their crooked ways and the post drew a crowd of victums from around the world.
dennis_30281

azehr

Well sorry for the late update. We got the engine running, so far it sounds good. I have a few bugs to work out, ive got 50 miles on it so far. The tranny would not work in reverse, when I called Lynn, he just raised his voice and yelled when I called him out on the engine and tranny swap. He said send the tranny to them and they would fix it, that's not happening at this point, I will never use them again. I had to take it out. I took it to intermountain transition in salt lake City, they said that Mondello forgot to install a part which led to the tranny failure. They rebuild it, seems to run good. The bran new alternator I bought from Mondello does not work, they put the thermostat housing on, later I found out without a thermostat in it. I will probably upgrade intake and carb if anyone has any suggestions.

FStanley

Had a friend who works at a machine shop in San Jose. Guy comes into shop with $15K Mondello built 455 in a 69 Cutlass. Wouldn't make 10lbs of oil pressure.. Lynn told him he broke in the engine wrong..

azehr

Well, I'm a bit late with updates on this build from mondello. It has been a nightmare. I discovered that he swapped my original engine and transmission. After I got it running, the transmission didn't work in reverse, pulled it out and had a reputable place rebuild it, they said they forgot to install a keeper correctly so it ate itself up. after putting the transmission back in, the engine was overheating and would belch out coolant when given throttle. Turns out the heads weren't torqued correctly, had to tear down the top end and clean all the coolant out of the engine, there were old push rods in the engine. I was guna pull it out and start over because the bottom end probably isn't guna last either but decided to put it back together and find a 455 to build in the mean time before this motor craps the bed. Now the number 8 cylinder isn't firing, it has 115 PSI of compression, all of the cylinders do, is this low? Anyhow, it has been a nightmare, I cant believe this guy is still in business. I need to file a complaint with BBB and write an make complaints anywhere else I can.

h/o guy

Sorry to hear about your nightmare with MPP but as I have seen for many years, this is common with Lynn and the way he does business.

When the time comes that you want to explore a properly built 455 please feel free to contact me and we can discuss a reliable build with good power using quality components, full documentation of the build and a warranty at the backside of it all.

I am located in Southern California and have been racing Oldsmobiles and building Olds engines for customers for near 30 years now.

Sincerely,

Grant

azehr

Thanks man, I would like to discuss the possibility of using you now, just to get an idea on costs and stuff. Do you have access to any of 455s, how much would the buid cost and any other details. Hit me up elynvredneck@yahoo.com

h/o guy

Will do

cfair

Just echoing that this is a common tale. He should be long out of business now, but somehow ain't. My drivetrain works, but it doesn't run quite like it shoudl for the money spent.

Never again.

h/o guy

Part of the problem is that JWO continues to allow him to advertise in their publication, reeling in more unsuspecting victims since people generally trust what is in the JWO classifieds. Shame on OCA for allowing this sham artist to continue trolling for victims through their organization.

I brought this up to the past OCA president and it fell on deaf ears, Wonder how many more folks have been ripped off since then....

Everyone who is an OCA member needs to make their concerns known to OCA so they can at least shut down that avenue of advertising.

matt69olds

As I mentioned in this thread several years ago, Joe Mondello spent decades promoting his business as the go-to shop for performance Oldsmobile engines. And if anyone would take a few minutes to research his claims to fame, he was very well known outside of the Olds community. Lynn obviously thrives on that history. What absolutely floors me is that in this digital connected works we live in, one would think the **** poor reputation would be better known.

One thought just crossed my mind; I’m curious if anyone knows anyone that works or did work for MPP with Lynn running things. Does he treat and screw over his employees as much as the customers? I’m guessing he couldn’t possibly have competent people in his machine shop, judging from the number of dissatisfied customers.

VORTECPRO

Who is JWO and OCA?

matt69olds

OCA=Olds Club of America

JWO= Journey with Olds, the newsletter for the Olds club.

cdrod

The best way to put Lynn out of business and warn unsuspecting olds owners is negative reviews and file a complaint with the Pasa Robles Better Business Bureau. Here are some links to get you started:

https://www.yelp.com/biz/mondello-pe...-paso-robles-2

https://www.google.com/search?q=mond...3a2abc696,1,,,

https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/paso-roble...c-1236-3000131