Rule Garage

Rule Garage Repair and restoration of vintage and specialty automobiles in Lakewood, WA.

Its a transition week in the shop. The Alfa Romeo Spider is back with it’s owner. We wrapped up the complete mechanica...
06/02/2026

Its a transition week in the shop. The Alfa Romeo Spider is back with it’s owner. We wrapped up the complete mechanical restoration, and the owner is shaking it down before a multi state road trip. The Everett Morrison Cobra is back for a pedal assembly redesign, as its original pedals are clumsy and hard to modulate. The Mk1 Sunbeam Tiger GT is stripped, and its mechanical restoration is moving forward. It’s original 260 V8 is receiving our standard treatment, balanced bottom end, streetable head and cam work, and an uprated intake & carb combo. Finally, the Convertible Mustang is coming out of storage and we will start it’s complete restoration soon.

Now that we have a baseline tune on the Alfa Spider, we invited the owner out for a long test drive. A few more adjustm...
05/21/2026

Now that we have a baseline tune on the Alfa Spider, we invited the owner out for a long test drive. A few more adjustments and it will be going home.

Today we mixed up our routine, and completed a one day tune up on this VW based dune buggy. It has a fresh engine, and ...
05/21/2026

Today we mixed up our routine, and completed a one day tune up on this VW based dune buggy. It has a fresh engine, and needed a baseline tune to be driveable. We fixed a few small other issues, and now its on the road for the holiday weekend. While its driveable, its not finished, and we expect it will be back this winter for a more comprehensive service.

05/19/2026

It’s carburetor tuning day for the Alfa Spider. Tuning Weber DCOE’s is a slow process, but very satisfying.

We dodged pockets of rain last week while test driving this 1967 Mustang. The current owner bought this car 30 years ag...
05/17/2026

We dodged pockets of rain last week while test driving this 1967 Mustang. The current owner bought this car 30 years ago, and it has bounced around its fair share of shops in that time. In the owner’s words, a lot mechanics have worked on this car, but none have finished it. The car wasn’t confidence inspiring, and had a few safety issues. We knocked out his Spring hit list, and now he’s back on the road safely for summer. Since no car is ever fully done, it’s coming back this winter for a disc brake swap and full front suspension rebuild.

Just about time to light it off! This Alfa Spider has been lovingly modified over its life, and Alfa pros will note thi...
04/29/2026

Just about time to light it off! This Alfa Spider has been lovingly modified over its life, and Alfa pros will note this engine bay isnt stock. Years ago the Spica was replaced with Webers, and the stock ignition was replaced with a reliable Marelli Plex unit. We recently moved the battery to the trunk, relocated the coil and washer tank, and added a custom hidden PCV system. There might be a solid state voltage regulator hiding under the original regulator’s housing too….

The Mustangs are piling up around here! The White ‘67 arrived for some minor repairs, while the Yellow ‘66 convertible ...
04/20/2026

The Mustangs are piling up around here! The White ‘67 arrived for some minor repairs, while the Yellow ‘66 convertible is still waiting its turn for a full restoration.

Spring is here, and we are juggling short term ‘get it safe and running’ projects with long term restoration work. This...
04/11/2026

Spring is here, and we are juggling short term ‘get it safe and running’ projects with long term restoration work. This Bronco was in for a quick day long overhaul, and already back on the road for the summer! This Bronco still has its original 170CI six cylinder engine. Most people prefer to V8 swap these old Broncos, but a smooth running six cylinder makes a great around town (or on trail!) cruiser.

All sidedraft Weber carburetor swaps should have each intake runner tapped for vacuum, yet aftermarket manifolds commonl...
04/08/2026

All sidedraft Weber carburetor swaps should have each intake runner tapped for vacuum, yet aftermarket manifolds commonly tap only one runner as a vacuum feed. This is unnaceptable, as it makes balancing the cylinders impossible. We fabricated a custom vacuum chamber, and modified the Alfa intake manifold, to fix this problem. Our new vacuum manifold also enables us to install a functioning positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) system. And finally, all of these upgrades are neatly hidden as to not detract from the underhood view. These two small upgrades will result in a smoother running and cleaner engine for the lifetime of the car!

Before installation, the Alfa 2.0L briefly joined our engine staging wall. The 3.0L road prepared Cosworth DFX is compl...
04/05/2026

Before installation, the Alfa 2.0L briefly joined our engine staging wall. The 3.0L road prepared Cosworth DFX is complete and awaiting its chassis, while the early 1980s aluminum ‘stock block SBC’ Donovan is awaiting a project. Anyone have have a late 70s/early 80s GM bodied race car they are looking to move on? As a bonus, note the Donovan is dry sumped, and has the initials ‘DG’ in the serial number!

Address

3886 Steilacoom Boulevard SW
Lakewood, WA
98499

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm

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