Ed Iskenderian (born July 10, 1921), commonly known by his nickname, "Isky", is an American hot rodder and entrepreneur. Biography Early life He was born to first-generation Armenian immigrants, in "grapevine country of Tulare County, California." Bad weather killed the grapes, compelling his parents to move to Los Angeles. He had an early interest in ham radio; soon, he became fascinated with hot rods. Like many others, he went lakes racing at Muroc Dry Lake, which was interrupted by the U.S. entry into World War II. Career Iskenderian attended L.A.'s Polytechnic High School. He built a customized Model T, adapting the overhead camshaft conversion kit produced by the Chevrolet brothers (the "Fronty" kit) and the "multi-flathead" cylinder head 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. At the U.S. entry into World War II, Iskenderian enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces, and flew supply missions in the Pacific Theatre with the USAAF Air Transport Command. After the war, Iskenderian established a business in a small shop at 5977 Washington Blvd., in Culver City, California; it backed up to Mercury Tool and Die, which was owned by a high school friend of Iskenderian's, John Athan. In this shop, Iskenderian fabricated parts, including camshafts, 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-shirts and uniforms. He would move from the Washington Blvd.