Charity begins at home and helping one’s community can be paramount to a good culture. We often forget about the less fortunate. Day-to-day stress, and all the rest can cloud our day. I’m guilty of this too and hopefully my annual holiday donation to the Humane Society alleviates some of my remorse.
But Angels Garage is different, they put the less fortunate ahead of their own needs and their work benefits charity. On June 30th a glow-in-the-dark neon green 1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1 restored and donated by their shop will be raffled and the proceeds will benefit the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.
The southern California collector car restoration outfit is a two-man operation, with husband-and-wife Mark and Angela Babala putting the community before themselves.
“Me and Mark build this stuff on our own,” said Angela Babala. “I mean, sometimes when you need a certain part, you got to decide if you’re going to have spam or hamburger.”
Their love of restoring classic cars is featured on their TV show, Angels Garage.
Angela and Mark are from Michigan and the married couple have been working on cars together for 16-years. Angels Garage centers around the reality of classic car restorations and is available on local stations. The genesis of the show centers around Deadwood actor, Ralph Richeson, who the Babalas befriended through Facebook, and he advised the couple that with their personality they needed a TV show.
The Mustang Mach 1 being raffled is a rare one. According to the Marti Report it is 1-of-11 that were used as show cars and it appeared at the 1969 Cincinnati Auto Show. It’s powered by a Super Cobra Jet 4287ci V8 engine and the build has been a labor of love. Their original vehicle project for the DTFA raffle was a 1941 Ford truck but supply chain issues made getting the part near impossible and it wasn’t completed in time for the raffle.
“Right before the 1st of January, when we had to have this truck done, it was like it was virtually impossible,” said Angela Babala. “So we said, “Let’s reach in and grab the K-line.”
The 1970 Mach 1 Mustang is one of many charitable builds by Angels Garage. After a decade of restorations more than $500,000 has been raised for various charities. The collector car community has been instrumental in helping Angels Garage the necessary parts to do a proper restoration and in the case of an iconic Mach 1 parts can be an issue to obtain.
“(I’m) really thankful to Jack Tindle, Top Flight Auto, and My Travel Tray,” Angela Babala said. “Because with all of their help, it allowed us to get where we are right now. Because, again, it was not an easy build, with the parts we were getting.”
The 1970 Mach 1 Mustang’s raffle is scheduled for June 30, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. (ET). Actor RJ Mitte, Breaking Bad, and singer Gracie McGraw will draw the winning raffle ticket to benefit the DTFA and their goal of “finding forever homes for children in foster care”. It’s a cause close to Angela’s heart.
“When I was growing up, I had my bouts with foster care and the state adjudication system,” said Angela Babala. “So, I can understand what those kids go through.”
Why glow in the dark green?