A collector in southeast Iowa with a barn full of pre-1980 cars called us last spring wanting automotive two post lifts to handle his own annual state inspections, oil changes, and general fluid work. He had a 30 by 40 pole building with 12-foot sidewalls and a 10-foot overhead door, concrete floor of unknown thickness, and no idea whether an overhead beam or a baseplate lift was going to fit. Over the following twelve months we spec’d the lift, prepped the building, installed the equipment, and returned for the first annual service. This piece is that whole story — the surprises, the fixes, and what we would do differently.
Collector-grade automotive two post lifts with the arm pads and door-swing clearance old cars demand.
The pole building measurement day
We drove out on a Saturday in early April. The building was clean, well organized, and had a level floor to the eye. Our first move was the tape measure: 12 feet 2 inches ceiling under the trusses, but 10 feet 8 inches under the closed overhead door track that ran across the middle of the shop. The lift bay was going to be under that door track. That single measurement eliminated the overhead automotive two post lifts from the running immediately — 10 feet 8 inches will not clear a 12-foot column plus top beam.
Baseplate became the answer by process of elimination. A 10,000 lb baseplate lift stands about 11 feet 8 inches to the top of the column, which cleared the door track with three inches to spare. We measured twice, then drew a chalk outline on the concrete showing where the two columns would sit, and had the owner park his everyday driver on the outline to confirm the door swing landed between the columns. It did. That was the go decision.
Concrete testing before install day
The floor looked like a modern pour — smooth, dense, no visible cracks. We hammer-tested it anyway. The center of the bay sounded solid; the corner near the overhead door sounded hollow. We pulled a small core sample and found four inches of 3,500 psi concrete over compacted gravel. Solid. But the hollow spot at the corner turned out to be a soft spot where the pour had been poorly consolidated. We shifted the lift 18 inches inboard to avoid that soft spot, and re-drew the chalk lines.
Two lessons from this: first, always test the floor before you commit to a lift position; second, the visual inspection of concrete is worthless — you need the hammer and, if in doubt, a core. Automotive two post lifts anchor into concrete with wedge anchors that pull to spec on install day. Anchors set into hollow or thin concrete will pass the pull test and fail three months later when a vehicle is up in the air. This is the failure mode nobody talks about, and it is entirely preventable.
The lift order and delivery
We ordered a Rotary SPO10 baseplate — asymmetric arms, ALI Gold certified, standard 74-inch rise. Freight from our warehouse to the owner’s building was about three weeks. When the truck arrived, it was a 26-foot straight truck with a lift gate. The two skids together weighed about 2,000 lbs and unloaded without drama into the shop. We staged the columns along the west wall and left the arm assemblies inside their protective wrap until install day.
Between order and delivery, the owner had an electrician pull a dedicated 30-amp 220V single-phase circuit to the corner where the powered column would sit. That electrical prep is one of the things owners often postpone and regret. Automotive two post lifts do not install without power to test the lift and cycle the safety locks. If the electrician is not scheduled ahead of install day, the install team stands around waiting. We flag this in every quote for a reason.
Install day and the first hydraulic prime
Install day started at 8 a.m. We drilled the anchor holes, vacuumed them clean, dropped wedge anchors, and torqued them to spec. Each anchor got a torque reading written on the install packet. We built the arm assemblies, mounted the columns, ran the equalizer cables through the baseplate, filled the hydraulic reservoir with ISO 32 fluid, and primed the cylinder. The first lift cycle went up smoothly. Then we found the surprise.
The safety lock on the passenger-side column was not fully engaging at the top position. Turned out to be a slightly bent detent pawl from freight — visible only if you were looking for it. We swapped in a spare from the truck, cycled the lock again, and it engaged cleanly. Total delay: 45 minutes. That kind of freight damage happens on maybe one in twenty installs, and it is why we carry spare wear parts in the install truck. We finished commissioning by 3 p.m. and handed the owner a signed inspection sheet.
Annual state inspections and the arm pad kit
The owner’s use case is Iowa collector-plate cars — a 1966 Mustang, a 1972 C10 pickup, a 1978 Corvette, and a couple newer daily drivers. Iowa collector plates require an annual inspection of brakes, tires, and safety systems. Automotive two post lifts make that inspection fifteen minutes per car instead of the awkward jack-stand routine he had used for decades. Rocker panel integrity on the old cars is the tricky part — the 1966 Mustang has structural rockers, but a 1978 Corvette has fiberglass rockers that will crumple if you set a pad in the wrong spot.
We spec’d an adjustable arm pad kit with center pins and multiple pad heights. The center pin drops into the factory lift point on the frame rail — every car we brought up onto the lift had a designated point that took a pin cleanly. That kit is a $200 accessory that has probably prevented $10,000 in rocker damage over the first year. If your collector garage is buying a lift, this is not a spec-sheet optional. Get the pad kit.
First-year service call and cable inspection
We returned in month twelve for the first annual ALI-standard inspection. Everything was clean. Anchors held torque within spec. Cables showed no visible wear — the owner had only cycled the lift about 60 times over the first year, which is light-duty use. Automotive two post lifts in this cycle pattern will comfortably run cables ten years before replacement, versus three to five in a busy commercial shop. We refreshed the hydraulic fluid, wiped down the columns, and left him with a written report for his records.
One surprise: the shutoff bar clearance had migrated. A cabinet had been installed on the wall behind the powered column, and the top edge of the cabinet was now within four inches of the shutoff bar arc. We moved the cabinet six inches lower. Small fix, but the lesson is real — the room around a lift changes over time, and the clearance envelope needs a re-check every year. That is one of the things a real annual inspection catches that a self-check often misses.
What we would do differently
Two things. First, we would have tested the concrete before the lift was ordered, not the week of install. That would have given us more lead time to select the exact anchor and shim strategy for the specific pour. It worked out fine, but tight sequencing invites unnecessary risk. Second, we would have coordinated the electrical rough-in with the delivery date more tightly, because the owner had the electrician out three weeks early and the circuit sat unused for a while. That is a scheduling coordination problem, not a technical one.
If you are a collector planning a home shop lift install, learn from this story. Measure the ceiling under every obstruction. Test the concrete before you commit. Order the pad kit. Schedule the electrician for the week before install. And plan on an annual inspection whether the lift is commercial or hobbyist — it costs almost nothing and it catches the little things. Related reads: our install guide and collector-garage buying guide. Call 800-674-9302.
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