My son-in-law works for an aftermarket "go-fast" parts supplier and just returned from the Advanced Engineering Technology Conference in Orlando. He sent me the following email and gave me permission to share it with y'all. I figured HAMBers would appreciate it........ "Ed Iskenderian is an icon of camshaft design. His Isky Cams have powered many winners, mostly in the late 50s and early 60s. As I stood in a buffet lunch line during the Advanced Engineering Technology Conference, I overheard Joe Mondello (another legend) ask Ed if he was doing the Early Developments in Dyno Testing seminar by Isky Cams, or if one of his guys would be doing it. Ed confirmed that he would be doing the lecture. From there, the two legends discussed internal combustion engine theory and at that point I realized this experience was well worth the price. Ed arrived 10-minutes late to his own seminar. Surprising to me, the room had only 10 people in it. Perhaps no one knows who Isky is anymore. The following 2 hours of monologue were priceless. Ed rambled without a script or outline, about the development of the aftermarket cam business from 1945 to 1965. It was amazing. He had his dyno operator Bones help him with the presentation at times. Ed is 85-years old. Ed paid great homage to Ed Winfield, one of the early pioneers of cam design and engine combustion theory. He stated that after awhile, he told Winfield that he should charge for his consultations, and out of gratitude, Ed began writing checks to Winfield in the 50s. The stories were numerous and amazing. One of Eds most successful cam lobes was based on an egg. Ed knew what a good flat tappet cam should look like, and without realizing how intuitive it was to allow nature to determine the allowable excitations of shape, traced a selected chicken egg to design one of his first cam lobes. It was very successful. Ed went on to discuss his hard-faced flat tappet profiles beating the roller cams of Herbert in the early 60s, and discussed his soft action cam philosophy, that allowed his cams to reach much higher rpm with less spring load, than the other cams on the market at the time. Sadly, as the engineering of cam design has moved forward, it appears to have left the Camfather in its wake. I wouldve listened to his stories of Garlits and Chrisman for another 2 hours, but after 2-hours it appeared my time with Ed was finished. Little did I know that I would see him again so soon. At the end of the day, PRI offered a Happy Hour with appropriate beverages. After 4 Buds, I headed for the shuttle bus back to the hotel. As I climbed on the bus I saw a cooler in the front seat. I recalled a comment I had heard about Bud on the Bus being provided and I reached to open the cooler for expected free beer. I grasped the wrong side of the lid at first, and a voice from the neighboring seat offered other side. I opened the lid and extracted a cold Budweiser. Then I saw the source of the assistance. It was Ed Iskenderian, the Camfather. I immediately told him that it was an honor to meet him and that I enjoyed his seminar. He asked me to sit down next to Bones and we chatted for the entire ride back to the hotel. He asked me my name several times, but I doubt hell actually remember it. We discussed current cam design philosophy and software, and while I gave him my sincere opinion of some of the current offerings, I was saddened by the thought that there was no possible way Ed would be able to make use of them. Ed was a pioneer in the field, his soft action cams were correct for reasons that he didnt even understand. All he knew was that his cams could run a small block Chevy to 8000 rpm in 1959, when everyone else was limited to 6000 rpm. I guess in this case it was the egg that came before the chicken."
Great story! Ed is always a joy to speak with, as he loves to talk as much as I love to listen! His stories about the early days are priceless, and it's cool to hear he's been able to share so much with so many! ~Scotch~
I dont think that Ed has been forgotten or left behind. I know several engine builders that use his cams almost exclusively. I have used his cams for years. The cam in my 489 bbc is an Isky roller and I am very happy with it, 642hp @6500, 540 ft/lb @5400. I know that the "old man" doesnt have much to do with the company any more, yet the man still has influence in the sport just as he has for years.
I remember as a kid my dad telling me how he spoke to Ed at length about the cam he should put in what is now my Henry-J and how Ed himself had a Henry-J and could had it running in the 140mph. range and told my dad that the nose and the aerodynamics of that particular car was not made for such speeds, "They tend to want to fly" he told dad. He then ground a cam and said it was "special" for just my dad's car. It showed up in a week and we shoved it in the old car. He is a hero of mine and I still have the cam in the car and the "Mr. Horsepower" sticker that came in the box on the side of the car, even though I have to color it in with magic marker every so often!!!
The Camfather rocks. As far as the technology used at Isky, I provide this tidbit from their website: "This Revolutionary new cam design program is so computation and memory intensive, for highest 'efficiency it is utilize with Isky's in house state-of-the-art Computer Systems." A picture of the "state-of-the-art" computer is also on the website. But most cam compnaies don't have engineers designing cams anyway, and that could be a good thing. A picture of the t-roadster is on the site too.
I've been lucky enough to know and talk with Ed for 45 years. He is a national treasure. Lunch down the street from the shop is a chance to meet anyone and everyone.There are genius' and nut bags at lunch.... Good conversation and everyone is welcome Ed's been ready to help me all my working life At the moment he's working on a billet cam for my 1915 International two cylinder truck He is just one of the best people you'll ever meet
Absolutely cool story. Ed is "the man", however, it's too bad his son is an asshole. I remember back in 1961 when we went out to CA for the races at Lions. We stopped by Isky's place on a Friday afternoon to have one of his new fangled "belt drives" installed on our car to replace the chain drive. We had one of his famous "5 Cycle" cams in the Lincoln. He told my dad that he didn't think that that particluar cam had enough oomph for 508 CI's. So, we pulled it right there and Ed installed one his brand new "550 Magnums". We picked up almost 7 mph. I love that guy.
The Jalopy Journal
