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Transcript: Autobody Repair Mechanic
Trading Skills S2: Autobody Repair Mechanic
Descriptive Transcript
[Upbeat music plays]
A CHILD: Whee!
[Logo] “t.v.o kids original.”
DESCRIPTION: The animated multicoloured logo bounces onto a white background. The word "kids" has an eye in the orange letter "d" and a smile in the lime green letter "s".
[Giggling]
[Upbeat music plays]
DESCRIPTION: Gears turn on a blueprint.
[Opening credits] T.V.O. kids presents.
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah, a girl with long black hair in tight braids, is wearing a pink plaid button-down shirt. Akeylah stands beside Brody, a boy with short, curly brown hair, wearing a long-sleeved brown shirt.
AKEYLAH AND BRODY: Welcome to Trading Skills.
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah and Brody cross their arms and stand back to back.
AKEYLAH: The show where we take turns…
BRODY: …trying a skilled trade.
AKEYLAH: I'm Akeylah.
BRODY: I'm Brody.
AKEYLAH: A skilled trade is a job that requires a special skill.
DESCRIPTION: Videos show Akeylah and Brody trying different skilled trades. Brody. examines a dog and controls an underwater remotely operated vehicle. Akeylah works in a recording studio and a salon and examines a car engine.
AKEYLAH AND BRODY There are lots of skilled trades.
BRODY: And you might find the perfect trade for you.
AKEYLAH: Maybe there's a trade that could change your life.
BRODY: So come with us into the trades…
AKEYLAH AND BRODY: …on Trading Skills.
[Title] Trading Skills.
[Upbeat music plays]
DESCRIPTION: In the Skills Space, Akeylah wears her pink and plaid button-down shirt and jeans and carries an open binder. Various tools hang on the back wall, where an L.E.D. sign featuring a screwdriver and a wrench shines brightly. Hard hats hang above the back wall.
AKEYLAH: Almost done? We've gotta start taking inventory. I swear there's gotta be a mouse taking our tools.
DESCRIPTION: Brody wears an olive green hooded sweatshirt and stands beside a truck, buffing a spot with a towel.
BRODY: My cousin is gonna be so happy when they see how well I took care of their truck. Akeylah bends down.
AKEYLAH: What is this wrench doing here? A mouse, I bet.
BRODY: Give it to me. I'll take it far away.
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah nods her head. Brody walks away with the wrench.
[Cartoon slipping sound]
DESCRIPTION: As Brody slips and falls down, the wrench flips through the air. Akeylah watches the wrench hit the truck, then she cringes.
[Wrench clanks]
DESCRIPTION: Brody rushes to the truck and notices a dent in the door.
BRODY: Oh no, what am I gonna do? Akeylah, help!
AKEYLAH: It's okay, take a breath. What do we always say?
AKEYLAH AND BRODY: Looking for aid, consult the trades.
AKEYLAH: Hang on a sec. Okay, where's that channel?
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah hops into the driver’s seat and dials the radio tuner.
[Audio crackling over radio]
AKEYLAH: There it is.
[Ad on radio]: Dent got you down? Well take a trip to Windsor, Ontario, where an auto body repair expert named Keelie is ready to restore, repair, and renew all your automobile needs.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie O’Donnell, a woman with long red hair, is an Auto Restorer.
AKEYLAH: Brody, I'll go take care of this one. Why don't you go sit over there and don't touch anything?
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah gets out of the truck and hurries away. Brody smiles and holds up his hands as he backs away from the truck.
[Title] Trading Skills.
[Upbeat music plays]
AKEYLAH: I headed out to JH Restoration to find out how to take out the dent from a door.
DESCRIPTION: At J.H. Restoration, Akeylah walks into a garage where several cars are undergoing restoration. The walls of the narrow space are lined with tool chests and other equipment. Keelie, who wears her long red hair in a half-up, half-down style, works on a car.
AKEYLAH: Hi, Keelie.
KEELIE: Hi, Akeylah. Welcome.
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah and Keelie high-five.
[Hands slap]
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah notices a car on a hoist.
AKEYLAH: These cars are so cool. As an auto body repairer, you repair the body of cars, right?
KEELIE: Yeah, we repair scratches, dents, and some rust, but we also do complete restorations here. So we do some mechanical work too, like engine swaps, suspension changes, and some wiring. You want to go see one of the cars?
AKEYLAH: Sure.
KEELIE: Let's go.
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah follows Keelie through the garage.
[Title] Trading Skills.
AKEYLAH: I was already wired being around all these cool cars, and that was fitting, since Keelie wanted to show me how to replace old wires and engine parts.
[Upbeat music plays]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie and Akeylah walk into another garage, where a car with a badge reading 4 4 2 sits on a hoist.
KEELIE: So now we're going to look at how to remove a carburetor.
AKEYLAH: Why do we need to remove it?
KEELIE: Older cars have carburetors and newer cars have throttle bodies with fuel injection.
So we're going to be switching that over today.
AKEYLAH: What do we do first?
KEELIE: We're going to remove the air cleaner first. So this will take in air and this filter here will filter it so you don't get any dirt inside your engine.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie loosens a wing nut which holds the filter in place, then she removes the filter. A graphic with an arrow reads, Carburetor.
[Upbeat music plays]
KEELIE: Now you have a clear look of your carburetor. So inside here, it'll mix your fuel and your air for proper combustion so that your engine runs properly.
AKEYLAH: But engines don't use carburetors anymore?
KEELIE: Correct. They use throttle bodies now most of the time.
AKEYLAH: How do we get it out?
KEELIE: Well, we're going to start by disconnecting our accelerator cable.
[Wrench ratcheting]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie uses a ratchet to loosen and remove a nut which fastens the cable.
KEELIE: Now we're going to look at removing the fuel lines on the other side. I'll give you this wrench so you can take those lines off.
AKEYLAH: This right here?
KEELIE: Yep.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie smiles and watches Akeylah use the wrench to loosen a nut which fastens a fuel line.
AKEYLAH: Like that?
KEELIE: Perfect. So now that we have this loose, all that's left to get it off is the four mounting bolts.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie and Akeylah remove the mounting bolts from opposite sides of the carburetor.
[Wrench ratcheting]
KEELIE: Perfect.
AKEYLAH: Here we go.
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah passes the bolts to Keelie.
KEELIE: Thank you. Now it's time to pull the carburetor off.
AKEYLAH: So what happens now?
KEELIE: So here's our throttle body.
AKEYLAH: What's the difference between the two?
KEELIE: So the throttle body uses electrical signals so that it can mix the air and fuel ratio for better fuel efficiency. First I'm gonna give you this gasket and you can switch it out with the old one.
AKEYLAH: Out with the old.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie helps Akeylah remove the old gasket.
KEELIE: There we go.
AKEYLAH: And in with the new.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie and Akeylah fit the new gasket over four carburetor studs.
[Upbeat music plays]
KEELIE: And then we're going to drop it on just like we pulled the carburetor off.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie fits the throttle body over the gasket, then she uses the ratchet to fasten one of the bolts. Akeylah also uses a ratchet to fasten another bolt.
[Wrench ratcheting]
KEELIE: So now we need to do some wiring.
AKEYLAH: Why do we need to rewire older cars?
KEELIE: Well, in this case, we're adding some new parts, so we've got to add some wires in.
But sometimes mice get into the wires and they chew them up.
AKYELAH: Mice. I knew it.
[Upbeat music plays]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie strips the end of a blue wire, then she uses a tool to fasten a terminal connector to the stripped wires. Next, she fits the terminal connector into a black plastic connector which has a red wire running from it. Keelie plugs the black plastic connector into another connector, which has pink, red, yellow and blue wires running from it. Akeylah smiles as she watches Keelie and gives her an OK sign. Akeylah lowers the hood.
AKEYLAH: Give it a try, Keelie.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie sits in the driver’s seat and smiles and gives Akeylah a thumbs up.
[Engine roars to life]
KEELIE: Just listen to that engine purr.
[Engine revs]
[Title] Trading Skills.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie and Akeylah sit on a bench in the garage. On the wall behind them, a fan sits on a high shelf, and a set of stairs lead up to an entrance.
AKEYLAH: We geared down and shifted into park so I could ask Keelie about the road she traveled. So Keelie, how'd you get into this trade?
KEELIE: Well, I was in grade 11 and I knew I wanted to go into an apprenticeship, but not what. My mom was a red seal plumber, so I learned a lot about the training and the schooling that it takes to do it. So I looked on Canada Summer Jobs for a position and I found JH Restorations.
AKEYLAH: What a cool journey! What else do you like about this trade?
KEELIE: Well, I love that every day is different. We're always working on new stuff and I'm someone whose brain needs to stay busy and that fits me very well.
AKEYLAH: What advice do you have for a young person like me who wants to get into this trade?
KEELIE: I would just say go for it and work hard. When I got into this trade, I didn't know anything. All I knew how to do was an oil change and a tire rotation. What got me my job was my enthusiasm about the trade and my work ethic. There are also lots of Ontario colleges that offer programs for auto body repair and many other programs that work with cars.
[Engine revs]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie looks around.
KEELIE: A really rare car showed up. You want to go see?
AKEYLAH: Of course.
KEELIE: Let's go.
[Title] Trading Skills.
DESCRIPTION: A badge mounted on the front grille of a blue-grey car reads, R.S. 4 T.I.
AKEYLAH: We made a pit stop to check out an example of a finished product ready to burn rubber.
DESCRIPTION: In a garage, Akeylah and Keelie walk toward the blue-grey car, which is a hatchback with a rear spoiler.
KEELIE: So this is our Merkur. This car won awards at SEMA.
AKEYLAH: What's SEMA?
KEELIE: It's kind of like the Olympics for car building.
AKEYLAH: How did it do so well at that competition?
KEELIE: Well, we put a lot of work and a lot of time into it. It probably took about three years.
AKEYLAH: Why does it take so long to restore a car?
KEELIE: Well, there's a lot of stuff that goes into it that most people don't know about all the little details. It has a full custom interior in it. That took a lot of time. They only made these cars for four years, so they're kind of hard to come by.
AKEYLAH: It's nice to meet an Olympian. Congratulations.
[Car]: Ah, thank you.
[Title] Trading Skills.
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah and Keelie walk into a workshop, where a car door panel lies on a table.
AKEYLAH: Next up, Keelie showed me how to help Brody by making a dent unbent.
KEELIE: So this is the dent that we're going to be fixing today.
AKEYLAH: What's the first step?
KEELIE: So we're going to put our earplugs in, and then we'll cut it out.
AKEYLAH: So we're going to cut the whole dent out?
KEELIE: Yep.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie, who now wears her hair in a ponytail, puts on a pair of safety glasses. Akeylah also wears safety glasses. Keelie uses a handheld die grinder to cut into the panel. Sparks fly as she carefully cuts out a square piece. Akeylah smiles and stands back.
[Drilling into car body]
KEELIE: Now we should be able to pull this out.
[Upbeat music plays]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie uses a screwdriver to pry the piece of metal out, then she shows it to Akeylah.
AKEYLAH: Wow.
KEELIE: So now we need to make a patch to fill that hole.
AKEYLAH: What do you do about these jagged edges?
KEELIE: Well, we're going to use our 90-degree die grinder, and we're going to grind it away.
[Grinding metal]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie uses the die grinder to smooth the jagged edges.
KEELIE: Do you want to give it a try?
AKEYLAH: Sure. So I just hold it like this?
KEELIE: Yep.
AKEYLAH: And then?
KEELIE: Pull the trigger.
[Grinding metal]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie stands back and watches as Akeylah uses the die grinder to smooth the edges of the square hole. Next, Keelie returns with a patch.
KEELIE: We got our patch.
AKEYLAH: What do we do next?
KEELIE: Well, we're gonna use these magnets and let the magnets do their job.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie centres the patch over the hole.
AKEYLAH: All right, it's set, it's centred. What happens next?
KEELIE: Well, we gotta weld it in.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie and Akeylah walk toward each other wearing welding helmets.
KEELIE: Ready?
AKEYLAH: Ready.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie and Akeylah each nod their heads, and their visors cover their faces.
[Welder buzzing]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie wears safety gloves as she uses a mig welder to weld the patch into the hole. Akeylah stands back, and in addition to her helmet, she wears a protective jacket and a pair of safety gloves. Sparks fly as Keelie welds the patch.
[Welder buzzing]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie taps the seam with a hammer.
[Hammering]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie continues to weld the patch to the hole. A bright light shines and sparks fly.
[Welder buzzing]
DESCRIPTION: In fast motion, Keelie runs the mig welder over various points along the seam. She pulls the welder away and fans the patch with her gloved hand. Next, Keelie and Akeylah remove their helmets.
[Upbeat music plays]
KEELIE: All right, now that we're done with the welding, let's get to grinding.
[Grinding metal]
DESCRIPTION: Sparks fly as Keelie uses the die grinder to smooth the seam around the patch.
KEELIE: Want to give it a try, just like last time?
AKEYLAH: Sure.
KEELIE: So just keep it on the high spots of the welds.
[Grinding metal]
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah wears her safety glasses and protective jacket and gloves as she grinds the patch seam.
[Title] Trading Skills.
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah sits in the driver’s seat of the Merkur. A breeze blows through her hair as she pretends to drive.
AKEYLAH: After applying the patch, I'm taking a moment to feel what it's like to take one of these for a test drive to feel the wind in my hair. While I put the pedal to the metal, why don't you check out the history of auto body repair?
[Air gun hissing]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie turns off an air gun and drops it on the floor. In a vintage-style black and white vignette, Brody wears a moustache and a flat cap while he welds a piece of metal.
AKEYLAH: In the 1920s and 1930s, advances in metalworking techniques such as spot welding and metal finishing led to more precise and accurate repairs.
DESCRIPTION: In a vintage-style colour vignette, Brody wears sunglasses and a leather jacket as he points to a red and white two-tone 1950s coupe.
AKEYLAH: In the early 1950s, people began to care not just about performance but about the look of their automobile as well, so auto body work became its very own trade.
DESCRIPTION: In a vintage-style colour vignette, Brody wears a plaid shirt and opens a bottle of oil against a backdrop of several sports cars.
AKEYLAH: In the 1970s and 80s, new materials such as polyurethane and epoxy were introduced for use in body repair making the process easier and quicker.
DESCRIPTION: In another colour vignette, Brody wears a grey-haired wig as he holds up a seatbelt against a backdrop of a car lot. Brody fastens the seatbelt, then he tests it by pulling each end. The seatbelt remains fastened. Brody picks up a travel bag, tucks the seatbelt inside, and gives a thumbs up.
AKEYLAH: On the 1st of January in 1976, the Canadian government passed a law stating all vehicles must be made with a seatbelt. This was big, not just for people riding in the cars, but for Canadians who had to learn to repair them, adding another element to their tool bag.
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah and Keelie return to the workshop where the patched door panel lies on the table.
[Upbeat music plays]
KEELIE: Alright, so we're going to mix up our Bondo.
AKEYLAH: What's Bondo?
KEELIE: Well, it's a putty that adheres to the metal so we can make everything look smooth and hide those welds. First step, we're going to take our putty, And then this is our little hardener. We'll add just a drop of that.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie squeezes a blob of putty onto a metal plate, then she adds a drop of blue-tinted hardener to it.
AKEYLAH: What does the hardener do?
KEELIE: It hardens the Bondo. But you got to mix it all up so you can't see the blue.
That's how you know that all the hardener is mixed in.
[Upbeat music plays]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie wears disposable gloves and uses a small plastic scraper to mix the hardener into the putty. She scrapes the mixture back and forth until the blue colour disappears.
AKEYLAH: No more blue.
KEELIE: That means it's ready to go. And we'll just slide some on.
[Upbeat music plays]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie uses the scraper to smooth some Bondo over the patch. She adds more Bondo, gently sliding it in a downward motion. Akeylah watches as Keelie slides the scraper from right to left in single passes across the patch.
AKEYLAH: That worked really well.
[Upbeat music plays]
KEELIE: And now we wait for it to harden.
AKEYLAH: What should we do in the meantime?
KEELIE: Watch it dry.
[Soft piano music plays]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie smiles at Akeylah, who chuckles and then rests her chin on her hand and watches the Bondo dry.
KEELIE: All right, it's dry, so let's do some sanding.
[Upbeat music]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie uses a folded piece of sandpaper to sand the patch.
KEELIE: You want to give it a try?
AKEYLAH: Sure.
KEELIE: Just small circular motions, getting everything flat.
[Sanding metal]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie gives the sandpaper to Akeylah, then she watches Akeylah sand the patch. Akeylah wears disposable gloves and runs her hand over the sanded patch.
KEELIE: Does it feel pretty smooth?
AKEYLAH: Feels pretty smooth to me.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie nods and runs her hand over the patch.
KEELIE: And that's how you undent a dent.
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah and Keelie high-five, then they each wave dust away from their faces and leave the workshop.
[Hands slap]
[Upbeat music plays]
[Title] Trading Skills.
DESCRIPTION: Back in the Skills Space, Brody kneels beside the driver’s side truck door and smiles as he buffs it.
BRODY: That's better. So shiny I can see myself in it. Thanks, Akeylah.
AKEYLAH: And thank you, Keelie. Because of you, the dent is unbent.
BRODY: Phew. And here I thought I'd have to say it was a mouse in our house. You might find that auto body repair is the skilled trade that'll put you in the driver's seat for a cool career.
AKEYLAH: Even if it isn't, there are still so many other skilled trades that could be the engine to power your dreams and take you to the top.
DESCRIPTION: Brody walks back to the truck.
BRODY: Hey, Akeylah. You learned wiring, right?
AKEYLAH: Yeah, why?
DESCRIPTION: Brody smiles and holds up a tangle of cable.
AKEYLAH: The mouse.
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah frowns and clenches her fist. Brody grimaces and shakes his head toward the sky.
[Upbeat music plays]
[End credits] Hosts: Akeylah James, Brody Agmon. Tradesperson: Keelie O’Donnel. Written and directed by Johnny Mitchell. Produced by Francis Mitchell, Johnny Mitchell, David Mitchell. Executive Producer Thomas Kritsch. Casting Director Carly Granovsky. Education Consultant Sara Fewson. Production Designer Mandisa Watts. Director of Photography David Mitchell. Camera Operators Craig Fowler-Campbell, Sean Mitchell. Camera Assistant Aaron Novelo. Sound Recordists Nicholas Field, Matt Beckett. Edited by David Mitchell. Music by Joseph Shabason, Christine Bougie. VFX Design Ben Mazzotta. Sound Mixer Leo Jay. Logo Design Sarah Gencarelli. Post Services Tom Strnad. Production Secretary Shelagh Grant. Accounting Wendy Wright, Jacqueline Mitchell. Special Thanks JH Restorations Ltd. Produced with the assistance of the Government of Canada Film or Video Production Tax Credit. Canada. Ontario Creates. Canada Media Fund. Produced in association with t.v.o. kids. VP, Programming and Content, TVO: John Ferri. Executive Producer, Head of Programming TVOL Natasha Negrea. Executive Producer, TVO: Kirsten Hurd. Production Executive, TVO: Agustin Guevara Mastretta. Logo: Riverbank Pictures. Copyright 2026 Riverbank Pictures.
Descriptive Transcript
[Upbeat music plays]
A CHILD: Whee!
[Logo] “t.v.o kids original.”
DESCRIPTION: The animated multicoloured logo bounces onto a white background. The word "kids" has an eye in the orange letter "d" and a smile in the lime green letter "s".
[Giggling]
[Upbeat music plays]
DESCRIPTION: Gears turn on a blueprint.
[Opening credits] T.V.O. kids presents.
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah, a girl with long black hair in tight braids, is wearing a pink plaid button-down shirt. Akeylah stands beside Brody, a boy with short, curly brown hair, wearing a long-sleeved brown shirt.
AKEYLAH AND BRODY: Welcome to Trading Skills.
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah and Brody cross their arms and stand back to back.
AKEYLAH: The show where we take turns…
BRODY: …trying a skilled trade.
AKEYLAH: I'm Akeylah.
BRODY: I'm Brody.
AKEYLAH: A skilled trade is a job that requires a special skill.
DESCRIPTION: Videos show Akeylah and Brody trying different skilled trades. Brody. examines a dog and controls an underwater remotely operated vehicle. Akeylah works in a recording studio and a salon and examines a car engine.
AKEYLAH AND BRODY There are lots of skilled trades.
BRODY: And you might find the perfect trade for you.
AKEYLAH: Maybe there's a trade that could change your life.
BRODY: So come with us into the trades…
AKEYLAH AND BRODY: …on Trading Skills.
[Title] Trading Skills.
[Upbeat music plays]
DESCRIPTION: In the Skills Space, Akeylah wears her pink and plaid button-down shirt and jeans and carries an open binder. Various tools hang on the back wall, where an L.E.D. sign featuring a screwdriver and a wrench shines brightly. Hard hats hang above the back wall.
AKEYLAH: Almost done? We've gotta start taking inventory. I swear there's gotta be a mouse taking our tools.
DESCRIPTION: Brody wears an olive green hooded sweatshirt and stands beside a truck, buffing a spot with a towel.
BRODY: My cousin is gonna be so happy when they see how well I took care of their truck. Akeylah bends down.
AKEYLAH: What is this wrench doing here? A mouse, I bet.
BRODY: Give it to me. I'll take it far away.
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah nods her head. Brody walks away with the wrench.
[Cartoon slipping sound]
DESCRIPTION: As Brody slips and falls down, the wrench flips through the air. Akeylah watches the wrench hit the truck, then she cringes.
[Wrench clanks]
DESCRIPTION: Brody rushes to the truck and notices a dent in the door.
BRODY: Oh no, what am I gonna do? Akeylah, help!
AKEYLAH: It's okay, take a breath. What do we always say?
AKEYLAH AND BRODY: Looking for aid, consult the trades.
AKEYLAH: Hang on a sec. Okay, where's that channel?
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah hops into the driver’s seat and dials the radio tuner.
[Audio crackling over radio]
AKEYLAH: There it is.
[Ad on radio]: Dent got you down? Well take a trip to Windsor, Ontario, where an auto body repair expert named Keelie is ready to restore, repair, and renew all your automobile needs.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie O’Donnell, a woman with long red hair, is an Auto Restorer.
AKEYLAH: Brody, I'll go take care of this one. Why don't you go sit over there and don't touch anything?
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah gets out of the truck and hurries away. Brody smiles and holds up his hands as he backs away from the truck.
[Title] Trading Skills.
[Upbeat music plays]
AKEYLAH: I headed out to JH Restoration to find out how to take out the dent from a door.
DESCRIPTION: At J.H. Restoration, Akeylah walks into a garage where several cars are undergoing restoration. The walls of the narrow space are lined with tool chests and other equipment. Keelie, who wears her long red hair in a half-up, half-down style, works on a car.
AKEYLAH: Hi, Keelie.
KEELIE: Hi, Akeylah. Welcome.
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah and Keelie high-five.
[Hands slap]
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah notices a car on a hoist.
AKEYLAH: These cars are so cool. As an auto body repairer, you repair the body of cars, right?
KEELIE: Yeah, we repair scratches, dents, and some rust, but we also do complete restorations here. So we do some mechanical work too, like engine swaps, suspension changes, and some wiring. You want to go see one of the cars?
AKEYLAH: Sure.
KEELIE: Let's go.
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah follows Keelie through the garage.
[Title] Trading Skills.
AKEYLAH: I was already wired being around all these cool cars, and that was fitting, since Keelie wanted to show me how to replace old wires and engine parts.
[Upbeat music plays]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie and Akeylah walk into another garage, where a car with a badge reading 4 4 2 sits on a hoist.
KEELIE: So now we're going to look at how to remove a carburetor.
AKEYLAH: Why do we need to remove it?
KEELIE: Older cars have carburetors and newer cars have throttle bodies with fuel injection.
So we're going to be switching that over today.
AKEYLAH: What do we do first?
KEELIE: We're going to remove the air cleaner first. So this will take in air and this filter here will filter it so you don't get any dirt inside your engine.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie loosens a wing nut which holds the filter in place, then she removes the filter. A graphic with an arrow reads, Carburetor.
[Upbeat music plays]
KEELIE: Now you have a clear look of your carburetor. So inside here, it'll mix your fuel and your air for proper combustion so that your engine runs properly.
AKEYLAH: But engines don't use carburetors anymore?
KEELIE: Correct. They use throttle bodies now most of the time.
AKEYLAH: How do we get it out?
KEELIE: Well, we're going to start by disconnecting our accelerator cable.
[Wrench ratcheting]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie uses a ratchet to loosen and remove a nut which fastens the cable.
KEELIE: Now we're going to look at removing the fuel lines on the other side. I'll give you this wrench so you can take those lines off.
AKEYLAH: This right here?
KEELIE: Yep.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie smiles and watches Akeylah use the wrench to loosen a nut which fastens a fuel line.
AKEYLAH: Like that?
KEELIE: Perfect. So now that we have this loose, all that's left to get it off is the four mounting bolts.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie and Akeylah remove the mounting bolts from opposite sides of the carburetor.
[Wrench ratcheting]
KEELIE: Perfect.
AKEYLAH: Here we go.
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah passes the bolts to Keelie.
KEELIE: Thank you. Now it's time to pull the carburetor off.
AKEYLAH: So what happens now?
KEELIE: So here's our throttle body.
AKEYLAH: What's the difference between the two?
KEELIE: So the throttle body uses electrical signals so that it can mix the air and fuel ratio for better fuel efficiency. First I'm gonna give you this gasket and you can switch it out with the old one.
AKEYLAH: Out with the old.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie helps Akeylah remove the old gasket.
KEELIE: There we go.
AKEYLAH: And in with the new.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie and Akeylah fit the new gasket over four carburetor studs.
[Upbeat music plays]
KEELIE: And then we're going to drop it on just like we pulled the carburetor off.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie fits the throttle body over the gasket, then she uses the ratchet to fasten one of the bolts. Akeylah also uses a ratchet to fasten another bolt.
[Wrench ratcheting]
KEELIE: So now we need to do some wiring.
AKEYLAH: Why do we need to rewire older cars?
KEELIE: Well, in this case, we're adding some new parts, so we've got to add some wires in.
But sometimes mice get into the wires and they chew them up.
AKYELAH: Mice. I knew it.
[Upbeat music plays]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie strips the end of a blue wire, then she uses a tool to fasten a terminal connector to the stripped wires. Next, she fits the terminal connector into a black plastic connector which has a red wire running from it. Keelie plugs the black plastic connector into another connector, which has pink, red, yellow and blue wires running from it. Akeylah smiles as she watches Keelie and gives her an OK sign. Akeylah lowers the hood.
AKEYLAH: Give it a try, Keelie.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie sits in the driver’s seat and smiles and gives Akeylah a thumbs up.
[Engine roars to life]
KEELIE: Just listen to that engine purr.
[Engine revs]
[Title] Trading Skills.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie and Akeylah sit on a bench in the garage. On the wall behind them, a fan sits on a high shelf, and a set of stairs lead up to an entrance.
AKEYLAH: We geared down and shifted into park so I could ask Keelie about the road she traveled. So Keelie, how'd you get into this trade?
KEELIE: Well, I was in grade 11 and I knew I wanted to go into an apprenticeship, but not what. My mom was a red seal plumber, so I learned a lot about the training and the schooling that it takes to do it. So I looked on Canada Summer Jobs for a position and I found JH Restorations.
AKEYLAH: What a cool journey! What else do you like about this trade?
KEELIE: Well, I love that every day is different. We're always working on new stuff and I'm someone whose brain needs to stay busy and that fits me very well.
AKEYLAH: What advice do you have for a young person like me who wants to get into this trade?
KEELIE: I would just say go for it and work hard. When I got into this trade, I didn't know anything. All I knew how to do was an oil change and a tire rotation. What got me my job was my enthusiasm about the trade and my work ethic. There are also lots of Ontario colleges that offer programs for auto body repair and many other programs that work with cars.
[Engine revs]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie looks around.
KEELIE: A really rare car showed up. You want to go see?
AKEYLAH: Of course.
KEELIE: Let's go.
[Title] Trading Skills.
DESCRIPTION: A badge mounted on the front grille of a blue-grey car reads, R.S. 4 T.I.
AKEYLAH: We made a pit stop to check out an example of a finished product ready to burn rubber.
DESCRIPTION: In a garage, Akeylah and Keelie walk toward the blue-grey car, which is a hatchback with a rear spoiler.
KEELIE: So this is our Merkur. This car won awards at SEMA.
AKEYLAH: What's SEMA?
KEELIE: It's kind of like the Olympics for car building.
AKEYLAH: How did it do so well at that competition?
KEELIE: Well, we put a lot of work and a lot of time into it. It probably took about three years.
AKEYLAH: Why does it take so long to restore a car?
KEELIE: Well, there's a lot of stuff that goes into it that most people don't know about all the little details. It has a full custom interior in it. That took a lot of time. They only made these cars for four years, so they're kind of hard to come by.
AKEYLAH: It's nice to meet an Olympian. Congratulations.
[Car]: Ah, thank you.
[Title] Trading Skills.
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah and Keelie walk into a workshop, where a car door panel lies on a table.
AKEYLAH: Next up, Keelie showed me how to help Brody by making a dent unbent.
KEELIE: So this is the dent that we're going to be fixing today.
AKEYLAH: What's the first step?
KEELIE: So we're going to put our earplugs in, and then we'll cut it out.
AKEYLAH: So we're going to cut the whole dent out?
KEELIE: Yep.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie, who now wears her hair in a ponytail, puts on a pair of safety glasses. Akeylah also wears safety glasses. Keelie uses a handheld die grinder to cut into the panel. Sparks fly as she carefully cuts out a square piece. Akeylah smiles and stands back.
[Drilling into car body]
KEELIE: Now we should be able to pull this out.
[Upbeat music plays]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie uses a screwdriver to pry the piece of metal out, then she shows it to Akeylah.
AKEYLAH: Wow.
KEELIE: So now we need to make a patch to fill that hole.
AKEYLAH: What do you do about these jagged edges?
KEELIE: Well, we're going to use our 90-degree die grinder, and we're going to grind it away.
[Grinding metal]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie uses the die grinder to smooth the jagged edges.
KEELIE: Do you want to give it a try?
AKEYLAH: Sure. So I just hold it like this?
KEELIE: Yep.
AKEYLAH: And then?
KEELIE: Pull the trigger.
[Grinding metal]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie stands back and watches as Akeylah uses the die grinder to smooth the edges of the square hole. Next, Keelie returns with a patch.
KEELIE: We got our patch.
AKEYLAH: What do we do next?
KEELIE: Well, we're gonna use these magnets and let the magnets do their job.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie centres the patch over the hole.
AKEYLAH: All right, it's set, it's centred. What happens next?
KEELIE: Well, we gotta weld it in.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie and Akeylah walk toward each other wearing welding helmets.
KEELIE: Ready?
AKEYLAH: Ready.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie and Akeylah each nod their heads, and their visors cover their faces.
[Welder buzzing]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie wears safety gloves as she uses a mig welder to weld the patch into the hole. Akeylah stands back, and in addition to her helmet, she wears a protective jacket and a pair of safety gloves. Sparks fly as Keelie welds the patch.
[Welder buzzing]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie taps the seam with a hammer.
[Hammering]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie continues to weld the patch to the hole. A bright light shines and sparks fly.
[Welder buzzing]
DESCRIPTION: In fast motion, Keelie runs the mig welder over various points along the seam. She pulls the welder away and fans the patch with her gloved hand. Next, Keelie and Akeylah remove their helmets.
[Upbeat music plays]
KEELIE: All right, now that we're done with the welding, let's get to grinding.
[Grinding metal]
DESCRIPTION: Sparks fly as Keelie uses the die grinder to smooth the seam around the patch.
KEELIE: Want to give it a try, just like last time?
AKEYLAH: Sure.
KEELIE: So just keep it on the high spots of the welds.
[Grinding metal]
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah wears her safety glasses and protective jacket and gloves as she grinds the patch seam.
[Title] Trading Skills.
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah sits in the driver’s seat of the Merkur. A breeze blows through her hair as she pretends to drive.
AKEYLAH: After applying the patch, I'm taking a moment to feel what it's like to take one of these for a test drive to feel the wind in my hair. While I put the pedal to the metal, why don't you check out the history of auto body repair?
[Air gun hissing]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie turns off an air gun and drops it on the floor. In a vintage-style black and white vignette, Brody wears a moustache and a flat cap while he welds a piece of metal.
AKEYLAH: In the 1920s and 1930s, advances in metalworking techniques such as spot welding and metal finishing led to more precise and accurate repairs.
DESCRIPTION: In a vintage-style colour vignette, Brody wears sunglasses and a leather jacket as he points to a red and white two-tone 1950s coupe.
AKEYLAH: In the early 1950s, people began to care not just about performance but about the look of their automobile as well, so auto body work became its very own trade.
DESCRIPTION: In a vintage-style colour vignette, Brody wears a plaid shirt and opens a bottle of oil against a backdrop of several sports cars.
AKEYLAH: In the 1970s and 80s, new materials such as polyurethane and epoxy were introduced for use in body repair making the process easier and quicker.
DESCRIPTION: In another colour vignette, Brody wears a grey-haired wig as he holds up a seatbelt against a backdrop of a car lot. Brody fastens the seatbelt, then he tests it by pulling each end. The seatbelt remains fastened. Brody picks up a travel bag, tucks the seatbelt inside, and gives a thumbs up.
AKEYLAH: On the 1st of January in 1976, the Canadian government passed a law stating all vehicles must be made with a seatbelt. This was big, not just for people riding in the cars, but for Canadians who had to learn to repair them, adding another element to their tool bag.
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah and Keelie return to the workshop where the patched door panel lies on the table.
[Upbeat music plays]
KEELIE: Alright, so we're going to mix up our Bondo.
AKEYLAH: What's Bondo?
KEELIE: Well, it's a putty that adheres to the metal so we can make everything look smooth and hide those welds. First step, we're going to take our putty, And then this is our little hardener. We'll add just a drop of that.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie squeezes a blob of putty onto a metal plate, then she adds a drop of blue-tinted hardener to it.
AKEYLAH: What does the hardener do?
KEELIE: It hardens the Bondo. But you got to mix it all up so you can't see the blue.
That's how you know that all the hardener is mixed in.
[Upbeat music plays]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie wears disposable gloves and uses a small plastic scraper to mix the hardener into the putty. She scrapes the mixture back and forth until the blue colour disappears.
AKEYLAH: No more blue.
KEELIE: That means it's ready to go. And we'll just slide some on.
[Upbeat music plays]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie uses the scraper to smooth some Bondo over the patch. She adds more Bondo, gently sliding it in a downward motion. Akeylah watches as Keelie slides the scraper from right to left in single passes across the patch.
AKEYLAH: That worked really well.
[Upbeat music plays]
KEELIE: And now we wait for it to harden.
AKEYLAH: What should we do in the meantime?
KEELIE: Watch it dry.
[Soft piano music plays]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie smiles at Akeylah, who chuckles and then rests her chin on her hand and watches the Bondo dry.
KEELIE: All right, it's dry, so let's do some sanding.
[Upbeat music]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie uses a folded piece of sandpaper to sand the patch.
KEELIE: You want to give it a try?
AKEYLAH: Sure.
KEELIE: Just small circular motions, getting everything flat.
[Sanding metal]
DESCRIPTION: Keelie gives the sandpaper to Akeylah, then she watches Akeylah sand the patch. Akeylah wears disposable gloves and runs her hand over the sanded patch.
KEELIE: Does it feel pretty smooth?
AKEYLAH: Feels pretty smooth to me.
DESCRIPTION: Keelie nods and runs her hand over the patch.
KEELIE: And that's how you undent a dent.
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah and Keelie high-five, then they each wave dust away from their faces and leave the workshop.
[Hands slap]
[Upbeat music plays]
[Title] Trading Skills.
DESCRIPTION: Back in the Skills Space, Brody kneels beside the driver’s side truck door and smiles as he buffs it.
BRODY: That's better. So shiny I can see myself in it. Thanks, Akeylah.
AKEYLAH: And thank you, Keelie. Because of you, the dent is unbent.
BRODY: Phew. And here I thought I'd have to say it was a mouse in our house. You might find that auto body repair is the skilled trade that'll put you in the driver's seat for a cool career.
AKEYLAH: Even if it isn't, there are still so many other skilled trades that could be the engine to power your dreams and take you to the top.
DESCRIPTION: Brody walks back to the truck.
BRODY: Hey, Akeylah. You learned wiring, right?
AKEYLAH: Yeah, why?
DESCRIPTION: Brody smiles and holds up a tangle of cable.
AKEYLAH: The mouse.
DESCRIPTION: Akeylah frowns and clenches her fist. Brody grimaces and shakes his head toward the sky.
[Upbeat music plays]
[End credits] Hosts: Akeylah James, Brody Agmon. Tradesperson: Keelie O’Donnel. Written and directed by Johnny Mitchell. Produced by Francis Mitchell, Johnny Mitchell, David Mitchell. Executive Producer Thomas Kritsch. Casting Director Carly Granovsky. Education Consultant Sara Fewson. Production Designer Mandisa Watts. Director of Photography David Mitchell. Camera Operators Craig Fowler-Campbell, Sean Mitchell. Camera Assistant Aaron Novelo. Sound Recordists Nicholas Field, Matt Beckett. Edited by David Mitchell. Music by Joseph Shabason, Christine Bougie. VFX Design Ben Mazzotta. Sound Mixer Leo Jay. Logo Design Sarah Gencarelli. Post Services Tom Strnad. Production Secretary Shelagh Grant. Accounting Wendy Wright, Jacqueline Mitchell. Special Thanks JH Restorations Ltd. Produced with the assistance of the Government of Canada Film or Video Production Tax Credit. Canada. Ontario Creates. Canada Media Fund. Produced in association with t.v.o. kids. VP, Programming and Content, TVO: John Ferri. Executive Producer, Head of Programming TVOL Natasha Negrea. Executive Producer, TVO: Kirsten Hurd. Production Executive, TVO: Agustin Guevara Mastretta. Logo: Riverbank Pictures. Copyright 2026 Riverbank Pictures.
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