Which Car Rotisserie to Buy for Your Restoration

A rotisserie is one of the most valuable tools in a restoration. It puts the body in the air and turns it to whatever height you want: the floors, the wheel wells and the underside stop being back-against-the-concrete work and become work you do standing up, with light on it and both hands free.

But it's also the tool that will hold an entire body for months. So the first thing to look at isn't which one spins smoothest. It's that it's safe, and that it has the capacity you need.

First things first: capacity

In this article we compare six rotisseries on the market, walk through their main features, and tell you which one suits the work you do. Start with the number they all share: all six hold 3,000 pounds.

For what most people do, 3,000 pounds is plenty. A stripped body — no engine, no transmission, no doors or glass — rarely goes past fifteen hundred. You'd be using half of what the equipment takes, and that reserve is exactly what you want when the body is going to hang off four arms for months.

The problem shows up when your project weighs more than that. A truck chassis, a heavy pickup with the full frame, or a commercial cab all go past 3,000 pounds, and none of these six reaches that weight. If that's your case, what you need is a different class of equipment, and it's better to know now than after you buy.

That said, if your body fits inside 3,000 pounds, all six serve you exactly the same on capacity. And the decision moves somewhere else: to these three questions.

• Whether you'll be working alone. Turning a body is the most delicate move in the whole process, and not every machine is built to do it without a second pair of hands. Of the six, only the Auto Dolly line states that one person can turn the vehicle, provided it's properly balanced and secured: it comes with a spring-loaded locking pin and stops every 30 degrees. On the other models, according to the manufacturer's specs, that isn't stated. And if they don't claim it, neither do we.

• How you'll anchor your body. Here it flips. According to the manufacturer's specs, the Auto Twirler and Tuxedo units come with adjustable arms and a telescoping center bar, and there are anchoring kits made for Camaro, Mustang, Corvette and several Mopars. The Auto Dolly, on the other hand, doesn't specify any mounting hardware. If your car is on that list of kits, the anchoring is already worked out. If it isn't, you go with universal arms and you solve the tie-down yourself.

• Whether you need the jacks. And here something is worth clearing up, because most articles on this subject get it wrong.

The jacks aren't what makes the machine expensive

You'll often hear that hydraulic jacks are what drive the price up. The prices say otherwise on their own: the cheapest of the six comes with two 6,000-pound jacks included, and one of the most expensive comes with none.

What the jacks do is something else, and it's the part the rotisserie doesn't solve by spinning. They're what lifts the body off the floor and onto the arms, and what lets you set it at the height you want to work at afterward. Without them the equipment turns and rolls perfectly well, but the initial lift is on you: a shop crane, a forklift, or jacks of your own.

And don't confuse the jacks with balancing, which is a separate system: a threaded rod that shifts the body across the axis of rotation until it sits even. Balancing is what makes turning manageable; the jacks are what makes loading possible. A machine without jacks turns just as well once it's balanced.

The two lines are selling you different things

Before the models, this orders the comparison for you. Auto Twirler and The Auto Dolly compete head to head — same buyer, the same 3,000 pounds — but each one answers a different question.

Auto Twirler gives you the structure in detail. According to the manufacturer's specs, you get the full breakdown in inches and pounds: tubing thickness, arm length, how many casters and what each one takes, jack stroke, mounting height. What it doesn't specify is how it turns, or whether you can do it alone.

The Auto Dolly gives you the mechanism in detail. There it is in writing: how it turns, on what lock, at what intervals, and who can do it. What it doesn't specify is the anchoring.

Neither one is hiding anything. They're answering different questions, and you have one of the two.

The home restorer, on a fixed budget

Tuxedo CR-3000.

It's the most affordable of the six and comes with two 6,000-pound jacks as standard, plus a factory paint finish. Working height from 17¾ to 45¼ inches, a telescoping bar out to twenty-one and a half feet, and 360-degree rotation with twelve locking positions.

But what really sets it apart is something else: it's the only one of the six whose shipping cost you know before you buy. On the others, freight is quoted afterward. On a fixed budget, being able to work out the total before you decide is worth more than any single specification.

What it doesn't have: the manufacturer doesn't specify the turning mechanism, and doesn't state that you can do it alone. Model-specific brackets are sold separately. And it doesn't offer liftgate delivery, so you'll need a forklift or a terminal pickup.

The one restoring alone, with no help

The Auto Dolly, jacks included.

It's the only one that puts together the two things somebody working alone needs: the E-Z Spin system with its spring-loaded locking pin — the only one of the six where the manufacturer states that one person can rotate it alone — and the jack set included, so you don't depend on anyone to get the body up either.

What it doesn't have, and it's a real gap: according to the manufacturer's specs, capacity in pounds isn't stated, and neither are the brackets or the anchor points. If you need certainty on that before buying, that's a phone call.

The shop rotating several projects

Auto Twirler AT-Elite-R.

The telescoping center bar extends to nineteen feet, and the four 16-inch arms are universal. Translated: the same unit covers different wheelbases without buying a kit for every car. That's exactly what a shop needs when a Mustang comes in, goes out, and a Chevelle comes in behind it.

It comes with six 5-inch casters, 880 pounds each, with four locks. And one practical detail: take the casters off and the mounting height drops from 20 to 14 inches, which is what lets you clear a low doorway with the body mounted.

What it doesn't have: the manufacturer doesn't specify the turning mechanism, the arms don't use the full clamp of the Pro model, and it ships in bare steel. Paint is extra.

The shop that repeats the same model

Auto Twirler AT-Pro.

Its difference is in the arms: the clamp wraps completely around the tubing, leaving no gap from differences in diameter. When you mount and unmount the same body many times over, that gap is what eventually becomes play.

Add the sealed ball bearing pivot with a 360-degree lock and pin locking positions — the only thing the manufacturer specifies about turning on this line — and the dedicated kits: Camaro, Mustang, and a Corvette sub-frame that covers every year.

What it doesn't have: it also ships in bare steel, it doesn't state single-person operation either, and its freight is quoted after the purchase.

Long bodies: classic pickup or military vehicle

The Auto Dolly Military, eight casters.

It's the only one that specifies a limit on length and not just weight: it holds a body or frame up to 218 inches, on eight 8-inch casters with pillow block bearings. And the manufacturer states single-person rotation.

Watch the name, because it misleads: "Military" describes the length and the casters, not more capacity. It's still 3,000 pounds. And it comes with no jacks.

The one who already has a way to lift

The Auto Dolly Originals, E-Z Spin, no jacks.

Three thousand pounds, twelve multi-angle stops every 30 degrees, single-person rotation, working height from 44 to 59 inches, and an adjustable center line from 10 to 30 inches.

It's the buy if you've already solved lifting with a shop crane or a forklift and you'd rather not pay for jacks you won't use. If you haven't solved it, this isn't yours: without jacks there's no way to get the body onto the equipment.

What none of the six will do

• None of them goes past 3,000 pounds. We said it up top and we're repeating it because it's what most people need to know: truck chassis, heavy pickup with the frame, commercial cab. For that weight you're looking at a different class of equipment.
• None of them is powered. No motor, no crank, no winch, no gearbox. All six turn by hand.
• Model-specific anchoring exists only for some cars. There's dedicated hardware for Camaro, Mustang, Corvette and several Mopars. Outside that list, you're on universal arms and the tie-down for your body is yours to work out.

If that's your case, say so when you call. Mounting a body on equipment that isn't right for it is the kind of mistake you pay for with the body.

If you're not sure which one is yours, call us

Three pieces of information and we'll tell you which one fits: what vehicle you're mounting, whether you'll be working alone or with help, and how you plan to get the body up — whether you already have a shop crane or a forklift, or you need the equipment to bring the jacks.

And if what you need isn't a rotisserie, the rest of the shop is available at JMC Automotive Equipment too: body carts, car lifts, paint booths, jacks and floor tools. If you're building out a full restoration bay, tell us what you plan to do and we'll help you put the buying in order: what comes first and what can wait.