Hot Rod Pioneer Ed Iskenderian, Dead At 104

Ed Iskenderian, besides known arsenic "Isky" and "The Camfather," passed distant connected Tuesday astatine 104 years old. Ed built 1 of nan astir successful aftermarket basking rod parts companies, Iskenderian Cams, from a azygous cam grinding machine he designed and built himself successful 1946 into a monolithic world supplier. He was a pioneer successful nan creation of basking rodding and barren lakebed racing, a legend, a hallway of famer, and by each accounts an beautiful bully dude. 

The Camfather began his basking rodding affinity measurement backmost successful 1939 erstwhile he slapped together a T-body Ford roadster pinch a large flathead V8, utilizing parts from his pals Vic Edelbrock and Stu Hilborn to make it faster each day. He ordered a camshaft from Ed Winfield, but yet didn't person it because nan cam man couldn't support up pinch demand. After a short break to service his state flying proviso missions to nan South Pacific successful nan Army Air Corps during World War II, Isky returned location pinch moreover much lust for speed. If Winfield couldn't springiness him nan cam he wanted, why couldn't he conscionable creation and technologist 1 for himself? So he did. Within a decade of his first self-ground cam, Iskenderian had go beautiful overmuch nan astir memorable sanction successful racing. 

In summation to being an unthinkable engineer, Isky was besides a phenomenal hype man for himself. In a move that was beautiful overmuch unheard of astatine nan time, Ed developed a "corporate sponsorship" for Don Garlits' resistance racing team. Motorsport coming can't tally without sponsors, but astatine nan clip Isky was beautiful overmuch nan first to do it, and nan institution would spell connected to sponsor immoderate of nan top teams and drivers successful NASCAR, Indy, resistance racing, off-road, Bonneville, monster trucks, tractor pulls, and vessel racing. 

He besides fundamentally pioneered merchandising, printing up thousands of t-shirts pinch his institution logo connected them and giving them distant astatine races. You weren't cipher successful nan basking rod segment if you didn't person an Isky tee. 

NHRA

Not contented to conscionable beryllium bully astatine making cams and building engines, Ed had to beryllium nan champion astatine it. A awesome declare to fame for Ed and his Isky Cams was to beryllium nan first to build an motor pinch 1 horsepower per cubic inch moving connected pump gasoline, successful a postwar Dodge Hemi. He was existent proud of that one. 

By 1963, Ed was practically a family sanction successful nan American V8 hop up scene. Working pinch a fewer of his chap manufacture pioneer pals, Ed helped spearhead nan creation of nan Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association, which you now cognize arsenic nan Specialty Equipment Market Association, aliases SEMA. Ed served arsenic nan group's first president successful 1963 and 1964. 

When it comes to a life good lived, it seems for illustration Ed beautiful overmuch did everything right. He served his country, he built a wildly successful family business, he made a batch of friends, he had nosy doing it, and he lived longer than beautiful overmuch anyone other successful history. They opportunity we're present for a bully time, but not a agelong time, but Ed really made some happen. 

The Camfather leaves down his 3 Camchildren, Richard, Timothy, and Amy, and 8 Camgrandchildren. The tagline his eponymous institution utilized for decades was "Isky Wins" and pinch nan life he had, and nan nosy times he filled it with, it judge seems for illustration he won.