One for the Gipper: Ronald Reagan's Subaru BRAT restored
Click above for a gallery of Ronald Reagan's Subaru BRAT
For reasons unbeknownst to this blogger, he receives Drive, the Subaru owners' magazine, in the mail. It's usually good for a 5-minute thumb-through, after which it lands in the circular file. The Winter issue, however, wound up providing a good read, thanks to the '78 BRAT shown above. You see, the little ute was purchased by Ronald Reagan for use at his Santa Barbara ranch, and it belonged to the former President until 1998.
In '98, the Young America's Foundation bought the Reagan ranch. The BRAT had given to a friend of the family, and was ultimately sold on eBay in 2004. A year later, however, the Young America's Foundation acquired the then-tired-looking trucklet, bringing it back to the ranch where it had spent most of its existence. Enter Subaru of America, former National Security Advisor Richard Allen, and a group of other supporters and Subaru enthusiasts. The BRAT was torn down and completely restored by The Westside Group to its original specs. Parts were donated; when necessary, they were fabricated. The end result of the project is what you see above: an essentially perfect specimen. It lives in a barn at the ranch, where we can imagine Reagan's ghost sitting in the driver's seat every now and then... with a smile on his face.
Gallery: Ronald Reagan's Subaru BRAT
[Source: Drive]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Geekengineer 11:22AM (1/31/2009)
Wow... when it's cleaned up, that's a pretty snazzy looking ride.
I kinda want one now... it would complement my '08 R32 nicely.
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Alex Nunez 11:39AM (1/31/2009)
I was talking to someone about this when I wrote it the other night, and he floated a pretty fun-sounding idea:
"I want a restored BRAT with an STI powertrain."
Yeah, me too.
JZeke 11:47AM (1/31/2009)
There's several STI-engined brats on youtube and other corners of the internets. I had saved pics of one particularly nicely done one some time back, but alas that harddrive is dead. It seems to be a popular conversion down under.
Geekengineer 11:49AM (1/31/2009)
Alex, that is an interesting idea... but... but... at what point does such a beast become "too much"?
Did I just say "too much"? What a dumb thing to say... of course a Brat STI would be insanely awesome. It would weigh just to the right of nothing, and would make the cops simply scratch their heads.
Oh never mind, you get paid to watch Knight Rider - you deserve to dream about such a monstrosity to ease your suffering.
MachinaDC5 12:44PM (1/31/2009)
If you're going to restore something and put the STi powertrain in it, you gotta go SVX. Style points!
rocco 11:25AM (1/31/2009)
am I the only one who thinks it odd, that Mr Neo-Con himself bought a Japanese made car in 1978?
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Das Otto 7:04AM (3/12/2009)
Not only that it is Japanese, but the "most liberal" of all car companies.
First OEM to offer domestic partnerships and used butch women like Martina in ads.
He must have had a lesbian farm hand that hauled that around.
Jeff Banks 11:39AM (1/31/2009)
Reagan wasn't a neo-con dammit...he was the original!
I love those little buggers...especially the suicidal seat-in-bed option! They can barely make the Jeep anymore as someone might put their hands out the window and *gasp* get hurt. The government won't be there to protect you.
Power windows are next as soon as CARB can figure it out.
Maybe Reagan was right...the world could use a little deregulation.
Sea Urchin 11:42AM (1/31/2009)
Well neo cons are pro free trade and open markets, Detroit 3 are against free trade and open markets and want government bailouts. You may also have noticed that it was the neo cons who were giving Bush problems with thee bailout.
Richard 11:42AM (1/31/2009)
@rocco,
Remember what William Kristol said: "A neo-con is a liberal who has been mugged by reality."
Geekengineer 11:48AM (1/31/2009)
Hey Jeff, when I was a kid I saw a Brat with the rear-facing seats in the bed.
There were also what looked like BMX handgrips... wow... even then I was like, "WTF, people ride back there *on purpose*???"
My mom said, "Yes, , there are idiots/brave souls everywhere."
Eric 11:45AM (1/31/2009)
Reagan wasn't a Neo-Con. Contrary to popular liberal thought, not all Republicans are neo-conservative.
why not the LS2LS7? 1:49PM (1/31/2009)
Jeff Banks:
CARB has nothing to do with safety, just emissions. If California were to go after power windows, it would be the California legislature.
But they don't need to, your own elected legislatures already did it.
http://www.citizen.org/autosafety/booster_seat/articles.cfm?ID=17564
Stop blaming California for your own problems (unless you live in California).
why not the LS2LS7? 2:21PM (1/31/2009)
geekengineer:
They all came with rear-facing seats in the bed.
Light trucks were subject to a huge import tariff, so the BRAT had sets it the bed, so it wasn't a truck!
Most people immediately unbolted the seats and used it as a truck, presumably exactly as Subaru intended.
And yeah, they had BMX handgrips to hold onto for some reason.
Fooman 4:58PM (1/31/2009)
Yeah one reason I think this is incredibly cool.
Razor 10:58PM (1/31/2009)
I think you should stop using the word neo-con until you learn what it means.
Stumpy 11:25AM (1/31/2009)
I would totally drive that. Great place to throw my mountain bike! Plus it looks so cool!
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daniel 11:26AM (1/31/2009)
Dead people's cars give me the creeps.
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Rainy99 11:31AM (1/31/2009)
I learned to drive on that exact car! (not the former President's...but) Even down to the canopy and the color.
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harlanx6 11:36AM (1/31/2009)
Good story. He was always my hero. It just goes to show you a manufacturer that provides what the market wants will be successful. All over the west in the mountainous areas people love those little Subarus. Good quality and 4WD at a reasonable price sells.
I predict the first manufacturer that provides a reasonably priced small bore diesel will win. A PHEV with a small bore diesel kicker would be unbeatable.
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