Ed Iskenderian (born July 10, 1921), commonly known by his nickname, "Isky", is an American

hot rod Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimised for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made ...

der and entrepreneur.

Biography

Early life

He was born to first-generation Armenian immigrants, in "grapevine country of

Tulare County, California Tulare County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 473,117. The county seat is Visalia, California, Visalia. The county is named for ...

."Iskycams.com
(retrieved 16 September 2018) Bad weather killed the grapes, compelling his parents to move to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He had an early interest in

ham radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communic ...

; soon, he became fascinated with hot rods.Reiss, Jason. "Ed Iskenderian And The History of Hot Rodding Now Available", written 2 May 2018, a
''Dragzine'' online
/ref> Like many others, he went lakes racing at

Muroc Dry Lake Rogers Dry Lake is an endorheic desert salt pan in the Mojave Desert of Kern County, California. The lake derives its name from the Anglicization from the Spanish name, Rodriguez Dry Lake. It is the central part of Edwards Air Force Base as its ...

, which was interrupted by the U.S. entry into

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Career

Iskenderian attended L.A.'s Polytechnic High School. He built a customized

Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...

, adapting the

overhead camshaft An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion c ...

conversion kit produced by the Chevrolet brothers (the "Fronty" kit) and the "multi-flathead"

cylinder head In an internal combustion engine, the cylinder head (often abbreviated to simply "head") sits above the cylinders and forms the roof of the combustion chamber. In sidevalve engines, the head is a simple sheet of metal; whereas in more modern ov ...

developed by George Riley. After suffering a number of failures, and experimenting with Model As and Bs, he turned to the crankshaft of the flathead, which had larger bearings; it proved stronger. He fitted Maxi F cylinder heads and a custom-built "slingshot" intake manifold (provided by Ed Winfield). Iskenderian filled the combustion chambers with cast iron, then rebuilt them under the guidance of Winfield, producing an astounding (for the period) 13:1

compression ratio The compression ratio is the ratio between the volume of the cylinder and combustion chamber in an internal combustion engine at their maximum and minimum values. A fundamental specification for such engines, it is measured two ways: the stati ...

. At the U.S. entry into World War II, Iskenderian enlisted in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

, and flew supply missions in the Pacific Theatre with the

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

Air Transport Command Air Transport Command (ATC) was a United States Air Force unit that was created during World War II as the strategic airlift component of the United States Army Air Forces. It had two main missions, the first being the delivery of supplies and ...

. After the war, Iskenderian established a business in a small shop at 5977 Washington Blvd., in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...

; it backed up to Mercury Tool and Die, which was owned by a high school friend of Iskenderian's, John Athan.Burgess, Phil, ''National Dragster'' editor. "Here, There, and Everywhere", written 19 September 2014, a
NHRA.com
(retrieved 3 October 2018) In this shop, Iskenderian fabricated parts, including

camshaft A camshaft is a shaft that contains a row of pointed cams, in order to convert rotational motion to reciprocating motion. Camshafts are used in piston engines (to operate the intake and exhaust valves), mechanically controlled ignition systems ...

s, for fellow hot rodders. He started with a single cam-grinding machine, which he adapted for the purpose himself. When the war ended, Iskenderian (like many other hot rodders) applied the experience and expertise gained in the Army to car building. Demand for speed parts was high, so when he was forced to wait five months for a new camshaft, he decided instead to grind his own, with homebuilt grinder, adapted from a cylindrical grinder. Iskenderian's new grinds offered markedly better performance than stock ones. To promote his business early on, Iskenderian took a chance on a new publication, buying an advertisement in the second issue of ''Honk!''; it paid off with new business. He was first to promote his business with

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...

s and uniforms. He would move from the Washington Blvd. location before coming back to Culver City, then ultimately moving the company to Gardena in 1966, where it remains. Iskenderian was also the first to offer a hard facing on camshafts, and the first to apply computers to cam design. Isky also offered the first camshafts designed to work with hydraulic lifters. To serve the burgeoning new supercharged

fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...

dragsters, he developed better lifters, drop-in self-locking roller lifters, and anti-pump-up hydraulic lifters (suitable for high-rev use). The high valve lifts and long

duration Duration may refer to: * The amount of time elapsed between two events * Duration (music) – an amount of time or a particular time interval, often cited as one of the fundamental aspects of music * Duration (philosophy) – a theory of time and ...

s demanded better valve springs, too, so Isky produced the Vasco Jet 1000 springs. He worked with

Don Garlits Donald Glenn Garlits (born January 14, 1932, Tampa, Florida) is an American race car driver and automotive engineer. Considered the father of drag racing, he is known as "Big Daddy" to drag racing fans around the world. A pioneer in the field o ...

, creating the first corporate sponsorship deal in drag racing: The ''Don's Speed Shop/Ed Iskendarian'' dragster, which turned in a record 8.36 second/ pass with Garlits at the wheel.Photo a
Iskycams.com
(retrieved 16 September 2018) In the 1950s, Iskendarian was the first to offer contingency awards to racers; these small cash payments for applying corporate decals help amateurs continue to race, and have become big business. Not limiting his focus, Iskendarian offered the first complete valvetrain kits, including camshaft and valve gear, for stock racing classes, as well as street cars. He also produced the first roller lifter cams for

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

engines and the first bushings and cam keys to allow cam timing to be adjusted. Iskendarian got together with Vic Edelbrock, Jr.,

Roy Richter Roy Edward Richter (March 16, 1914 – July 28, 1983) was an American businessman who founded Bell Helmets and Cragar Industries. Early life, family, and education Richter was born to Otto and Cora Richter in the small town of Dupo, Illinois. Dup ...

, Bob Hedman, Robert E. Wyman, John Bartlett, Phil Weiand Jr,

Dean Moon Dean Moon (May 1, 1927 – June 4, 1987) was an American automobile designer. He grew up in Norwalk, California. Moon was around cars and racing from his youth. His father owned "Moon Cafe" and had a go-kart track he called "Moonza", a pun on M ...

, Al Segal, and Willie Garner in 1963, forming the Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association, now known as

SEMA Sama ( tr, Sema, Persian, Urdu and ar, سَمَاع - ''samā‘un'') is a Sufi ceremony performed as part of the meditation and prayer practice dhikr. Sama means "listening", while dhikr means "remembrance".During, J., and R. Sellheim. "Sama ...

, serving as its first president during 1963-1964.

Honours

In 1985, Iskendarian was named one of Chevrolet's "Legends of Performance". The company he founded is now located in

Gardena, California Gardena is a city located in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 58,829 at the 2010 census, up from 57,746 at the 2000 census. ...

. He turned 100 in July 2021.

Biography

Early life

Career

Honours

Notes

External links