BB767 Senior Member



Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Philo, IL Posts: 3,576

Re: Restored 1930's Auto Shop















I unbolted the ramps and rolled them out the door on 4" PVC pipe.







This is with the lift removed. The grey round object in the background is the lift control cabinet in grey primer prior to being painted.







I had to dig down about 12'. Digging was done mostly with a backhoe with very little hand work. Clay subsoil hard as nails. We kept a close eye on it since there was no room to put any bracing.







I found two pin hole leaks in the outer cylinder which were repaired. Then I had 1/4 inch steel, 8' long, rolled to match the outer diameter of the post and this was welded around the post completely surrounding it so if it leaks in the future it will all be contained in new metal. Also put undercoating material on the outside of it to slow rust and reinstalled it.







The sign on the wall was restored from the one outside the original shop. It can be seen if you go back to the first picture of this post showing the front of the shop above the two overhead doors to the left side of the picture showing the front of the shop.







The lift control cabinet, bottom center, was restored as well. The motor sits above the hydraulic pump which I had rebuilt and everything was rewired.







Here is everything restored. The back half of the lift control cabinet holds a 30 gallon fluid reservoir. The lift is strictly hydraulic, no air.







Rotary lift is still in business and their records show this lift was made before 1935. That's as far back as their records go. I have since been able to date the lift to having been manufactured in 1928. I had Rotary install one of their new modern 2 post lifts in my new " barn" I built this fall, 2009. They make great equipment!





Thomas The shop lift had a slow leak.Here is what I had to do to restore the in ground Rotary lift. It had been located outside the original shop for over 30 years. That's why there is clap board siding in the back ground since that was the outside of the original building. The lift was then enclosed in 1962. Three concrete block walls were built around it and it was then " grafted " to the original shop.The family gave me pictures of that enclosure being built which you can see if you keep reading through the various posts.I unbolted the ramps and rolled them out the door on 4" PVC pipe.This is with the lift removed. The grey round object in the background is the lift control cabinet in grey primer prior to being painted.I had to dig down about 12'. Digging was done mostly with a backhoe with very little hand work. Clay subsoil hard as nails. We kept a close eye on it since there was no room to put any bracing.I found two pin hole leaks in the outer cylinder which were repaired. Then I had 1/4 inch steel, 8' long, rolled to match the outer diameter of the post and this was welded around the post completely surrounding it so if it leaks in the future it will all be contained in new metal. Also put undercoating material on the outside of it to slow rust and reinstalled it.The sign on the wall was restored from the one outside the original shop. It can be seen if you go back to the first picture of this post showing the front of the shop above the two overhead doors to the left side of the picture showing the front of the shop.The lift control cabinet, bottom center, was restored as well. The motor sits above the hydraulic pump which I had rebuilt and everything was rewired.Here is everything restored. The back half of the lift control cabinet holds a 30 gallon fluid reservoir. The lift is strictly hydraulic, no air.Rotary lift is still in business and their records show this lift was made before 1935. That's as far back as their records go. I have since been able to date the lift to having been manufactured in 1928. I had Rotary install one of their new modern 2 post lifts in my new " barn" I built this fall, 2009. They make great equipment!Thomas Last edited by BB767; 02-08-2016 at 06:38 PM .