New Home w/Lift. No idea how to make it work :)

I've been a Prius owner from 2007 and have used these forums for information about the car many times. I'm not sure if this the right spot for the question as it's slightly off topic but I know the people here are smart and might be able to help.

I purchased a home this month, just moved in. The previous owner used to build Corvettes. There is a rather awesome looking car lift in the garage and I'd love to start using it for work on the Prius. The issue is, I have no idea how to make it go. I believe I'm fairly intelligent and good mechanically, but the answer to my questions on its functionality is escaping me. The lift was made be Autolifters, and as far as I can tell they went out of business in 2005. There are no directions for its use in the house, just some installations and safety instructions. Can't find a thing about it on the web. I will attach a picture of what I can only guess is the mechanism used to actuate the lift, there is a red handle and a silver button, the handle swings loosely and the button doesn't appear to do anything when I press it after I remove the pin holding it in place.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

Yeah, it was quite a nice addition to the home .

The wire does go to through the ceiling and comes out near a 220 plug on the other side of the garage, so I do know that needs to be plugged in to energize it. I got that far. After that I'm sorta stumped. The handle is strange, I can spin it loosely 360 degrees and it doesn't do anything. I was thinking maybe it needed to be tightened? Maybe it was loosened for safety reasons?

 

I got it figured it out, I guess posting this motivated me to really take a close look at it.

The silver button makes it go up, you have to remove the pin, take the button out and reverse it back in that spot, its hallow on the inside so when it's in safety mode it won't go back and press against the part that actuates the lift. When you reverse it, works. To lower the lift you pull outward on the lever. I even figured out the safety catches it has.

I'm all set, now to figure out exactly where to place the arms under the car .

 

Wow there were lots of replies to this I didn't see. I've been using the lift for a few months now. There is a safety mechanism built in that prevents the car from crashing down in the case of lost hydraulics or power.

I'd be happy to scan what I have documentation wise and send it. Where should I send it to?

 

PS - Here is a shot of it in action. And anyone within distance of Forks Township, PA is welcome to use it.