Rod Hero, ***aulted Outside His Home The Camfather was punched in the face, had his cell phone stolen, but is in good shape. BY MARK VAUGHNPUBLISHED: APR 10, 2024 12:58 PM EDT MARK VAUGHN Ed Iskenderian, original hot rod hero, 102 years old, was ***aulted outside his Southern California home by a robber. Isky was taken by his son to the hospital, checked out, and went right back to work grinding cams at his shop in Gardena. The Camfather will turn 103 on July 10. Isky was knocked down, but he is far from out. Ed "Isky" Iskenderian, original hot rod hero, whose custom-ground camshafts powered generations of race cars to victory, is fine and still going strong at 102. That's the most important thing. But earlier in the week "The Camfather" was ***aulted by a homeless person outside his home. Iskenderian took a slug to the left side of his face as the ***ailant took his phone and fled. ISKY RACING CAMS Iskenderian with racing family and friends at Lions. "A derelict fellow approached him, knocked Ed down and took off with Ed's cellphone," said racing PR professional Doug Stokes, who spoke with Iskenderian. "Ed called the police, and the police used the 'find' feature on Ed's phone to track him down." The ***ailant was arrested. Ed's son took his father to the emergency room, where he was checked out and given a clean bill of health. The elder Iskenderian returned to work in his shop that afternoon and even attended a memorial for drag racing crew chief and team owner Roland Leong at the Lions Automobile Museum the next evening. Isky posted the following on his Facebook page after the night out: "Hi, racing pals, I just wanted you to know I was ***aulted by a homeless man out in from of my house last Wednesday. The Police came and arrested him, and my son Tim took me to emergency to get checked out. I got a clean bill of health and went back to the Isky Plant later that same day. Then I went to Roland Leong's Memorial the next day at the Lions Museum. You can't keep this Legend down! Thanks for your concerns. The Camfather." The incident may have left his friends and fans more concerned than he was. "Ed was far more nominal about it than I was, and that's an understatement," said Stokes. "He sounded fine, said he'll have to be more careful in the future and (since I told him that a lot of his friends were very concerned) asked that I thank them for worrying about him." Isky's 100th birthday was celebrated July 10, 2021, with at least three parties that we know of. The Petersen Automotive Museum feted him with a hot rod cruise-in in his honor, at which The Camfather ate a few Pink's Hot Dogs, showing you don't have to eat salads to survive that long. ISKY'S 100TH Hot Rod Legend Ed Iskenderian Turns 100 To what does he owe his remarkable longevity, he was asked then? "I do like onions and hot chili peppers," the legend said, before devouring a couple of Pink's famous chili dogs. The Isky story is in many ways the story of the American century. Born before the Great Depression, Isky's parents lost their vineyard in the Central Valley of California after several devastating frosts, ending what could have been a career for the young Isky as a winemaker. Instead, the family moved south to Los Angeles and everything changed. CLICK FOR ARTICLE GETTY IMAGES Isky with his namesake hot rod. It was while in high school in Los Angeles that Isky built the famous black Model T Ford roadster that would define the best of that cl*** of art and engineering. It is simple and elegant, from the laughing skull radiator cap that he cast himself in high school metal shop to the Maxi heads, Edelbrock triple manifold, and Vertex magneto that are still on the car. Notice, also, the timing tag from El Mirage attesting to a top speed of 120 mph. These guys were brave. Ed served in the Army Air Corps in WWII and returned home to find a dearth of performance camshafts for hot rods, so he bought a used cylindrical grinder that he converted to a cam grinding machine, and the performance car world has never been the same since. Isky's cams could get more power out of almost any engine "with no penalty." From his famous 5-Cycle cams to the Ultra Rev-Kits with roller cams, Isky cams were the sought-after components for speed, horsepower, and torque. Still are. The company is now run by Isky's sons, Ron and Richard, who are still making performance under the Iskenderian name and reputation. His shop is still grinding out cams to this day. You can buy as many as you'd like. Send a get-well card to the legend at: 16020 S. Broadway, Gardena, CA 90248.
Gene Winfield is on Facebook..Maybe someone can get the Camfather setup on the platform..He might enjoy it....
I realize Ed doesn’t look 102 years old, but certainly doesn’t look young. What would go through even a homeless persons mind to hit an older person is unthinkable, all for a cellphone? Geez, quick call to block in and out service to the phone renders it useless, yet keeps the “find my app”alive. I’m glad they tracked the guy down. I’d hope they toss him into a “let’s clean up the highway” program all through the summer months and sweat it out of him. I also hope he did the “macho” thing when put in a cell. “What you do”? “Aw, just smacked some old man and took his phone”. Years back I found out holding cells are for those with outstanding warrants, career guys with felony backgrounds, could be anyone in there. I sure hope there’s at least one person who has a “I don’t give an eff” at***ude.
Thanks for the update, I hadn’t heard. What a F—ked up country we live in! A man can go off to war come home build a multimillion dollar business from the ground up live to 102 only to be ***aulted and mugged in front of his own home!
Twenty years ago I called Isky to see about a regrind on my cam for my 303 olds it was Ed himself that picked up the phone. We ended up talking for about an hour about his love for the olds mills and other things he then said he kept the last grind and if he could find it I could have it he put the phone down and you could here him moving things around he couldn't find it then had me send my cam to him turns out he couldn't grind it to my specs I'll never forget that call nicest guy you will ever talk to.
Stolen cell phones are not stolen to be used by the thief, they are stolen to be sold overseas for parts, it's a chop shop service. Virtually untraceable.
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