Edward "Isky" Iskenderian (born July 10, 1921) 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 optimized for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and ma ...

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 located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117. The county seat is Visalia. The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great La ...

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

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. 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 communi ...

; 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 basin, endorheic desert salt pan (geology), 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 pa ...

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

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 the Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first mass-affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. Th ...

, adapting the

overhead camshaft An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine in which 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 combustio ...

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

cylinder head In a piston engine, the cylinder head sits above the cylinders, forming the roof of the combustion chamber. In sidevalve engines the head is a simple plate of metal containing the spark plugs and possibly heat dissipation fins. In more modern ...

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 maximum and minimum volume during the compression stage of the power cycle in a piston or Wankel engine. A fundamental specification for such engines, it can be measured in two different ways. Th ...

. 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 a ...

. 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. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

; 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 syst ...

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 for short) 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-shir ...

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 (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...

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 durations 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) is an American race car driver and automotive engineer. Born in Tampa, Florida, Garlits is considered the father of drag racing, he is known as "Big Daddy" to drag racing fans around the world. A pion ...

, creating the first corporate sponsorship deal in drag racing: The ''Don's Speed Shop/Ed Iskendrrian'' 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, Iskenderian 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, Iskenderian 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 ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

engines and the first bushings and cam keys to allow cam timing to be adjusted. Iskenderian got together with Vic Edelbrock Jr., Roy Richter, 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 Café" 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 (; ) 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" Encyclopedia of Islam, Second Edition. Ed. P. Bearman, T. B ...

, serving as its first president during 1963–1964.

Honors

In 1985, Iskenderian 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 region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 61,027 at the 2020 census, up from 58,829 at the 2010 census. Until 2014, the U.S. census cited the City of Gardena as the ...

. He

turned 100 A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

in July 2021. Iskenderian was inducted into the

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is a hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles ...

in 2025.

Biography

Early life

Career

Honors

Notes

External links