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I didn't realize that Mark started this project 9 years ago! Here I thought we were waiting 5 years. I believed in Mark as a man of his word, always has been and Edelbrock has finally done its part!
Well I’ve been eluding to this for awhile now, I wasn’t done bringing new parts to the Olds community! i’m especially proud of this accomplishment. i signed an NDA in the summer of ‘17 to start this project with Edelbrock and I’m the only one outside of them to be involved in this and I have three years of emails and the NDA to prove it. But I’m also thrilled they’re finally here! 2 versions of new Olds cyl heads. A “small block” version and a “Big block“ version. Here are the details; Both heads have improved/revised intake and exhaust ports, combustion chambers and castings Big block head has 2.15/1.68 valves and a 77cc chamber. Chamber is based on a 4.155 bore size Smallblock head has the current 2.072/1.68 valves but with a new smaller 68cc chamber based on a 4.00” bore size Both no longer have machined drain backs, they’re now cast into each end improved spark plug location And best of all both styles of heads will have one end scalloped to clear a mech fuel pump. Plus for the next level guys there’s now added material between the valve cover rails and rocker stud bosses so the intake port can be raised as much as .400. Its been three years of keeping my mouth shut because of the NDA. However you can blame Joe P as well😉, I forwarded some pics to him a couple of months ago. My goal has always been for the Olds enthusiast to be able to page thru a Summit or Jegs Catalog and buy the pieces needed in order to build a respectable Olds power plant. This is now a major step towards that goal and I’m damn proud of it!. Current head on top, new one on the bottom. Thanks guys!!!
Mark texted back, has my set. Sent him the rest of the money tonight, ouch but worth it. Will show pics when they arrive. Will be installing almost immediately, when they show up. Awesome!
Asked Mark to look over the new heads, he went above and beyond "Checked heads, 150# on the seat, 360 open at .550 lift. Look fine, they’ll go out tomorrow." Awesome!
It's hard to tell who is responsible for bringing these heads to market. Mark has said he's working with Edlebrock which I don't doubt but Bernard Mondello is taking a lot of credit for this also. It could be a collaborative effort by many engine/head guys.
It's hard to tell who is responsible for bringing these heads to market. Mark has said he's working with Edlebrock which I don't doubt but Bernard Mondello is taking a lot of credit for this also. It could be a collaborative effort by many engine/head guys.
over ten years ago, over on ROP, Mark asked me by PM for input on the new generation heads. I said I would like to see them cast with more meat above the intake ports so the runner could be raised up significantly and fix/increase the MCSA without welding, which I had been doing.
I sent pics to him which he forwarded to E Brock because they did add material exactly where I had suggested on both new heads
Last edited by CANADIANOLDS; Jan 20, 2026 at 10:17 AM.
That's good to hear on the added material in the right places and scallops where space was needed. Only those involved know whose ideas are for the positive changes done to these new heads.
It's hard to tell who is responsible for bringing these heads to market. Mark has said he's working with Edlebrock which I don't doubt but Bernard Mondello is taking a lot of credit for this also. It could be a collaborative effort by many engine/head guys.
Here’s the whole, real story.
Many years ago Bernard and his dad Joe approached Vic Edelbrock to do a small block head in addition to the “big block” one. Vic didn’t want to do it. The project died. There was no further involvement from Bernard or Joe at the time.
Fast forward to 9 years ago. At the PRI, I ran into my friend (Cary Redman) the sales manager at Edelbrock at that time, and informed him that they did not have a top end kit for the 125,000 Trans Ams out there with Oldsmobile 403 engines in them. (I did my homework. That is still a huge part of their sales, top end kits for various makes of engines). He looked at me like I had two heads. They thought the 403 was actually a big block. And at no time, let me repeat that, at no time, was there any mention of the fact that these didn’t really fit on a small block, and needed to be scalloped in the front, ever mentioned to anyone at Edelbrock. That was the elephant in the room. Once I got their attention, and told him the pitfalls of putting their current Cyl head at the time, on a small block, it peaked their interest. They had no previous knowledge of any small block head project. Again they had no knowledge of any potential issues in doing so.
Moving forward, my friend Cary hooked me up with Matt Gamble, who at the time was one of their cylinder head engineers, and in July 2017 I signed the necessary NDA to move forward on this project. The rest is history. Matt and I went thru countless revisions, over and over. Once we settled on practical changes, (one of which was Dales suggestion, thanks Dale), he took the ball and ran with it, and quite frankly did a great job.
In the fall of 2020 I received the first sets of cylinder heads, both big and small block. Seeing as how I had to honor the terms of the NDA, I couldn’t tell anybody. However, there were a couple people that knew, one of which was my friend Dan Macal a.k.a. Dr. Dan. I knew he could keep a secret, and I was glad to share my enthusiasm with him.
Shortly after that, I tested the new small block heads on a 357 in.ł small block. That was in the winter/spring of 2021. Matt Gamble repeatedly told me I was the only one they were consulting with for any and all input. That 350, with very mild compression and a small hydraulic roller, made 445 hp. We knew then that it was going to be a game changer for the small block community.
I supplied the Edelbrock technical group with multiple Dyno sheets, etc. Matt had supplied me with flow sheets earlier in that same year. Actually his goal was to get 300 CFM at .650 or better lift as cast on the big block head. I told him if he did that he would be an all-time hero in the Olds community. Didn’t happen. But the potential on both of these heads is extensive.
So there you have it, I still have the NDA, emails, flow sheets with dates and times on them, pictures to Dan, and everything to support my claims. I find it interesting that other people seem to take credit for this, when at the very least, I was solely responsible in resurrecting this project. You have to ask yourself, if this wasn’t true, why was I, 3000 miles away from Edelbrock’s HQ at the time, doing all the testing. Hmmm. And there was more than one issue that was never addressed early on when the project was first presented to Vic some 20+ years ago.
I’ve said this many times, my main goal that I started years ago, was for any Oldsmobile enthusiast to be able to go through a summit or Jegs catalog, buy the parts and pieces they need to build a respectable big or small block Olds. I believe I’ve helped in accomplishing that, with rods from Molnar, Pistons from Mahle, and now dedicated cylinder Heads from Edelbrock, the leader in Street performance parts.
Finally, I hope everyone will support these manufacturers so that we can get even more performance pieces available to everyone.
I hope this sheds some light on what really got us to this point.
Last edited by cutlassefi; Jan 22, 2026 at 05:28 AM.
Oh, we're half way there. Both heads managed to make it to Winnipeg together then UPS put up some BS about the weather and delayed shipping, for two heads shipping from the same place! Either way, the first one looks good.
