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One of the American racing and hot rod movement’s early pioneers, Ed Iskenderian, has died at the ripe old age of 104, but the company he founded soldiers on, steered by his sons, Ron and Richard.

Anyone who ran US hot rod or race engines back in the early post-WWII years knew about Iskenderian Camshafts. 

Ed Iskenderian was born in 1921 in the grapevine country of Tulare County, California. His future as a winemaker never materialised, because several heavy frosts destroyed the vineyards. These conditions forced the Iskenderian family to move to Los Angeles.

While attending Polytechnic High School in Los Angeles, Ed’s pet project was building a Model T Ford roadster, experimenting with Frontenac (Fronty) and George Riley heads.

Turning his attention toward the later Ford V-8 flathead engine, he installed special Maxi F-type cylinder heads, with overhead exhaust valves and slingshot intake manifold. Ed re-contoured the combustion chambers for a whopping 13:1 compression ratio. This was Ed Iskenderian’s first hot rod and it still occupies a corner of the plant today.

Ed then worked as an apprentice tool and die maker, until his career was interrupted by WWII, in which he served with the Air Transport Command.

After his war-time absence, Ed lost no time in getting back to his hot rod and getting it ready for California’s dry lake bed meets. He needed a special camshaft, but demand was hot, so he had to wait five months for it. During that down-time, Ed decided to enter the cam-grinding business and bought a used cylindrical grinder that he soon converted into a universal cam-grinding machine.  

Ed’s cams were the first to produce one horsepower per cubic inch on petrol, in OHV V-8 Dodge Hemis and 1.3 bhp/cu in OHV 283 Chevy V-8s.

Ed created the first Hard-Face Overlay camshafts and became the first to employ computers in camshaft design, resulting in the 5-Cycle and Polydyne Profile 505 Magnums and the first hydraulic racing camshafts. 

Then he developed High-Density Chilled-Iron lifters for the Fuel Burning Supercharged Dragster class (now known as Top Fuel Dragsters): drop-in, self-locking roller tappets and Anti-Pump-Up hydraulic lifters for hydraulic camshafts. Ed then introduced Vasco Jet 1000 Valve Springs.

In a gentlemen’s agreement, Ed Iskenderian and a young racer from Florida, named Don Garlits, entered into the first corporate sponsorship of a race operation. During this time Ed was given the nickname of Isky the ‘Camfather’.

In addition to his racing advancements, Ed also helped stock/street enthusiasts by developing the first coordinated cam and assembly kit, to take the guesswork out of ordering. 

He offered the first Ultra-Rev Kits for small-block Chevy V-8 roller cams and the first anti-cam-walk kit for the Chevy V-8s, along with the first offset cam keys and bushings for adjusting cam timing. 

In 1963, Ed helped create the Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association , now known as SEMA. Ed became its first president in 1963 and 1964.

With the consumer trend towards economy, Ed produced a line of economy camshafts and components, leading to SuperCams for economy/performance and MegaCams, street/performance hydraulic camshafts.

Some of Ed’s proudest achievements came in 1985 when he was inducted into membership of Chevrolet’s ‘Legends of Performance’ and also into SEMA’s Hall of Fame.

Isky’s present location in Gardena, California is a four-building complex employing more than 100 specialists, making it the USA’s largest racing, performance and economy cam manufacturer.

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