Subaru Restores Former President Reagan's 1978 BRAT

Launched in 1977, Subaru BRAT, which stands for Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter, was an all-wheel drive car equipped with a 67-horsepower, horizontally opposed, four-cylinder engine, and was especially addressed to the American market. Even though it has always been regarded as a fairly special model, what makes it really unique is the fact that the 40th President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California Ronald Reagan also owned such a car which “was perfect for working on his 688-acre ranch in Santa Barbara, California,”as Drive, Subaru's magazine, wrote.

Unfortunately, it's extremely difficult to find a BRAT nowadays, despite the fact that some vintage car lovers aimed to restore older models. Well, Subaru of America, former Reagan National Security Adviser Richard Allen, The Westside Group and several individuals struggled to restore the 1978 BRAT the former United States President owned until 1998. The car was sold on eBay in 2004, but the Young America's Foundation bought it back one year later.

As expected, the car had serious rust damage plus missing and broken parts, which made the restoration process fairly difficult, the aforementioned source wrote. But even so, the group managed to completely recover the car. It now features several new parts, a brand new engine rebuilt to original factory specs plus the same red paint and body graphics as the 1978 model.

“We were pleasantly surprised at the overwhelming support of a devoted community of Subaru BRAT owners worldwide who generously provided us with information, resources, and original parts – some from their own vehicles,” Mike Escudero, owner and founder of The Westside Group, said. “Underneath the wear and tear, we knew we would find great bones and classic engineering.”