Bill Schoenleber's 1924 Ford Model T roadster - Revering The Isky Legend

You really can't be a hot rodder if you don't know who ed "isky" iskenderian is. The father of modern performance cam grinding, the isky logo has been visible on race cars since Barney Rubble raced his first Top Fueler. The isky 404 Jr., the cam of choice for Flathead Fords, is probably the most famous cam name ever. The signature look of isky himself-a stub of a cigar jammed between his teeth and a shirt pocket full of pens, engineering rules and the arcane computational device known as the isky Dream Wheel-is the stuff of hot rod legend. since the '30s, iskenderian has been the world's leading automotive performance camshaft innovator. The names of record-setting cars that made their chops with iskenderian equipment reads like the who's who of hot rodding; Garlits, kenz-Leslie, Jazzy Nelson, and countless others proudly bore the isky logo on their cars.

Ed iskenderian began building his famous street rod, a whacked-down '24 T on essex 'rails, in 1939. The distinctive front radiator shell was made from a '34 Pontiac grille top half and he hand-fab'd the bottom half. The engine was a '32 Ford that sported Maxi cylinder heads. These were unusual in that they moved the exhaust valves into the heads (a semi overhead, if you will). Three 97s, a Vertex mag, and an isky ground cam gave the little roadster plenty of suds for its day. ed ran the car in dry lakes competition in 1942 and went more than 120 mph-truly blistering in those days!

Shifting the scene to contemporary times, there is a guy in southern Oregon named Bill schoenleber who seems to know a lot about having fun. Bill's career as an engineering contractor has allowed him the luxury of having a very nice hot rod shop, known as Pacific hot Rods, at his equipment yard. Bill mixes his passion, old-time hot rods and customs, with his love, building the darn things.

Always on the lookout to create something at once periodand unique, Bill hit on the idea of an isky roadster tribute car.Getting into hot rods the right way (Bill's dad organized a car club in Grant's Pass, Oregon, in the '50s) gave Bill a real sense of the historical milestone cars, and the isky roadster was always one of his favorites.

This photo was taken of ed... 

   

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This photo was taken of ed "isky" iskenderian in his roadster in the late '50s. The photo is autographed by isky to Greg sharp of the Wally Parks NhRa Motorsports Museum (where the roadster resides today) on July 16, 1988

Using a Model a frame, a real steel '24 T body rescued from an amateur restoration project, a 24-stud 1946 59a motor, and some henry-made chassis components, Bill has recreated the feel of the old isky car.

He did not intend to create a replica of the original iskenderian special, but instead it was to be a tribute to the then-cutting-edge design ideas that were to inspire builders of hot rods for decades to come. By using Ford components and all traditional hot rod speed equipment and modifi- cations, it looks like Bill not only has a great, driveable street roadster in hand, but he has also preserved and honored an era and a legend.

The Original Isky Roadster
Much has been written about the ed "isky" iskenderian Model T roadster, and to have a longtime hot rodder like Bill schoenleber build a tribute car is something worth featuring. ed built the original car, depicted here, in the late '30s and ran at the dry lakes. The car's best performance was 120 mph at el Mirage Dry Lake on May 8, 1942, and the car would gain even more notoriety after its appearance on the June 1948 cover of hot Rod.

The isky roadster is based on a pair of essex framerails, and to this ed dropped in a Ford Flathead he found in a junkyard (keep in mind this was a relatively new motor at the time). The roadster hit the streets in late '38 or early '39 for the first time. isky installed a set of Maxi F-heads and cast his own aluminum engraved valve covers. isky cast the distinctive flying skull grille ornament (he made a few of them) while he was attending Manual arts high school in the 1930s.

We have provided some pictures of the original roadster as it sits today at the Wally Parks NhRa Motorsports Museum in Pomona, California. The car is today as it was on that cover in 1948; although we have found one, maybe two, very subtle changes. Can you spot them?

	Here is a shot of the hot...        read full caption Here is a shot of the hot Rod cover from June 1948 with isky once again sitting behind the wheel of the roadster.	Here are isky (holding a photo...        read full caption Here are isky (holding a photo of Bill schoenleber with his tribute roadster) and Bill sharing miles of smiles for the camera.
Isky cast his own aluminum...        read full caption Isky cast his own aluminum and engraved valve covers for the Maxi F-heads.	The original leather oxblood...        read full caption The original leather oxblood interior that isky crafted is still there today-although time has begun to take its toll-but not its character.	Here's the original isky roadster...        read full caption Here's the original isky roadster as it sits at the NhRa museum.
The auburn-style dash insert...        read full caption The auburn-style dash insert is outfitted with aircraft-style gauges, especially the tach that is mounted into the column drop.	The always recognizable ed...        read full caption The always recognizable ed "isky" iskenderian (left) with John athan, the man who is credited with building much of the original Model T roadster for isky back in 1938.	Bill used a later-model Ford...        read full caption Bill used a later-model Ford Flathead in the tribute car. it is a '46 Ford 59a with a Merc crank and, of course, an isky 404 Jr. cam.
The tribute car uses '33 Buick...        read full caption The tribute car uses '33 Buick gauges resting in a custom dash while isky used aircraft gauges.	Bill used an original Dago...        read full caption Bill used an original Dago axle, a frontmounted '35 spring, and Ford 12-inch front brakes.	Bill had showtime Upholstery...        read full caption Bill had showtime Upholstery stitch the brown leather, while isky stitched his own oxblood skins for the original car.

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