“Blue Fox” - Zachary Dickehage’s 1990 Ford Mustang
It’s extraordinarily rare to come across a racer whose vehicle has carried them through so many of life’s milestones that the car becomes a part of their life story. But for Zachary Dickehage of Blanchard, Oklahoma, his ‘90 fox-body, the Blue Fox, is a profound part of his journey through life. From high school adventures with the Mustang as his daily driver, to the momentous day of his wedding, and more recently, numerous races and wins for both he and his bride, Zach’s story wouldn’t be complete without the Blue Fox.
At the young age of 14, Zach acquired the Mustang from his brother. He and his father swapped the motor and transmission, opting for a Ford 302ci engine with a T5 transmission, and Zach’s high school daily driver was ready to roll. Despite having big plans for the car, the Mustang was parked for a few years shortly after high school. It wasn’t until Zach’s engagement to his now wife, Melisa, that he breathed life back into car. Aspiring to drive the Mustang with his best friends to his wedding, Zach pulled it out of storage and hired Shane Green of Blackout Window Tinting to repaint the car to its original Light Crystal Blue color.
After the wedding, Zach elected to restore the Blue Fox to its stock glory with a 5.0L V8. While his vision of a stock fox body had its appeal, he quickly realized after just a few drives that stock is much too boring to feed his desire for adrenaline. And thus, Zach took the car on a one-eighty and set his sights on creating a high-powered competitive brute ready to take on the streets and the strip.
Zach replaced the stock engine with a 408ci small block Ford enhanced by Henson Racing Engines out of Yukon, Oklahoma. Bored to 4.060 and fitted with Icon pistons, Eagle rods, and Edelbrock Victor Jr cylinder heads, the engine yields an 11:1 compression ratio and a hefty dose of horsepower. Backing this small block is a Bubba Ginn Racing Transmissions TH400 with a PTC Racing torque converter. The Blue Fox was also equipped with twin 7875 VS Racing turbos. To dial in the tune, Zach utilized a Holley EFI system.
Underneath the Mustang, Zach upgraded the front and rear suspension with UPR components, enhanced the rear 8.8 axle with Strange Engineering parts, and installed full 3” exhaust with tail pipes. He also added Strange Engineering single adjustable coilovers.
With power mods, chassis and suspension upgrades complete, Zach added a few finishing touches to the full factory interior. The largest of these projects was a certified 8.50 roll cage that he installed at KC’s Chassis Shop in Oklahoma City. He also added Stroud Safety seatbelts, a Holley EFI 7” dash, a Hurst Quarter Stick Shifter and an Alpine head unit with Kicker speakers for a bumpin’ tunes on the way to the track.
The Blue Fox rolls on either stock 10 holes or Bogart d10 wheels while laying down rubber from 275/60 Futura Super Sport tires. One of the most unique modifications to the Mustang is the narrowed front factory 10 holes surrounded by 3.5” tires.
Competing in mostly hard tire and 1/8 and 1/4 mile contests (prepped and no-prep) since the rebuild, Zach and Melissa have wasted no time earning elite racing titles. In the 2023 race season alone, Zach won Outlaw Armageddon, two King of the Open Roads, and Conquer the Concrete. In addition, Melisa reeled in an impressive 3rd place trophy in the 10.0 index at Rocky Mountain Raceweek with a personal best 9.62 second 1/4 mile pass at 125mph despite letting out early. Given the immense sentimental value of this remarkable ride to Zach, it’s no surprise that his greatest pride with the car is watching Melisa’s racing success. Despite the spectacular power and contest victories of the Blue Fox, Zach has aspirations to eventually perform a Coyote motor swap to drop the Mustang’s quarter mile times into the eight second range. He also plans to add AC and overdrive.
Zach is forever grateful to his father, Keith Dickehage, for always helping him out with the Blue Fox and for hooking him up with good deals on parts. He is also filled with gratitude for his wife Melisa who is his rockstar and allows him to spend far too much money on the car and his racing adventures. Baron Racing also played a huge part in Zach’s success through providing him with top notch parts for the Mustang. And Zach’s true lucky charm and guardian angel is his mother, Renee Dickehage, who Zach is sure is behind his racing success as he hasn’t lost a single race since her untimely passing.