There are a million skills to learn or master in the automotive world. You, as an enthusiast, can find any specialization within the car community — driving, wrenching, design, or anything else that could feasibly involve wheels and tires. No one can learn every skill — we simply don’t have time in our lives — but we can always keep learning. Earlier this week, we asked what you still want to learn, and today we’re looking through your responses. Here’s what you said.
Heel and toe.
I’ve not been able to figure that one out.
My friend, you and I are in the same boat. I’ve never owned a car where my feet fit the pedal box correctly, so I’ve never gotten the chance to practice.
Not really an “automotive” skill, but I really want to learn to weld. Regret not doing so in my younger years.
Welding is a very useful skill. You can fix frame rails, replace rotted panels, assemble new tools and structures that didn’t exist before. It’s also just really fun.
Transmission repair and overhaul. So near as I can tell, they work due to black magic. That goes for real ones and automatics.
I’ve spent so much money on transmission repairs in my time. If I could have swapped my own clutches, replaced my own gears, I’d have so much more cash sitting in savings. Okay, realistically I would’ve lost it all day-trading, but I can dream.
I would like to master electrical diagnostics. You know, tracing CANBUS issues and ground faults. Those tend to be fairly common on the sorts of cars I buy (depreciated high-end Euro stuff).
As the fresh owner of a depreciated Euro vehicle that has some ECU oddities, the solution appears to always live in some magic third-party box that costs $400. Once you buy the $400 box, you’re unstoppable.
Backing up a trailer. I just got one a few days ago (my first time towing anything) and the struggle is real. Of course, having my kid yelling in the backseat and 3 different people outside yelling different directions wasn’t helping. But still...
I had never backed up a trailer in my life, and then I became an intern at a race track and suddenly had to regularly park a 25 foot enclosed trailer containing a NASCAR. I had one afternoon to learn. It worked shockingly well, honestly.
I’ve been trying to learn how to drive a Semi. It is not going well. No Curb has been left unsmashed on turns so far, and I may have dented a road sign at one point. I’ll get it. I promise.
God, I want my CDL so bad. Rory, can Jalopnik pay to get me a CDL? It’s only like 18 months of classes. I want to be licensed for every motor vehicle imaginable.
I would like to master deep cleaning paint, especially using a clay bar.
For me, it’s more a lack of patience than it is ability. At the end of the day, it’s just easier to write a check.
Having a freshly-detailed car is one of the best things in the world. Detailing your car? Entirely different story.
Seems like I’ve always been lacking speed in repairs. I only once had a problem with that on the job. Fucking Dodge Caravan rear drums were fighting me for 45 minutes because I didn’t have any brake tools of my own, lack of drum brake experience at the time.
But now I have no excuse because I have the tools and the knowledge. It’s been taking me ages to finish wiring this truck because I keep changing plans/schematics/parts/preferences.
Speed is tough. Every repair always seems to take twice as long as it should. Four times if you’ve got rust to deal with.
Diagnostics.
I’ve got two older cars and each is getting jerky. Sometimes they have good power, sometimes they sputter. Only one has thrown a code and that went away when I replaced the bad coil. One has new coils and new plugs (within the last year) and I’m going to replace all the coils on the one that had a bad coil a couple months ago. But I haven’t a clue what to do next. Fuel system cleaner?
Look at the spark plugs. Adjust the carburetor. Poke things with a multimeter. One of those has to work, right?
This may sound oddly specific, but pinstriping.
I met a woman who restores antique furniture for a living, but has a side gig pinstriping cars and motorcycles, and recently Polaris Slingshots and Can Am Spyders.
She was doing 2-3 per week at $200 -$300 each, all cash.
I figure I could do that too, if only I had the time, talent and patience.
That’s only three skills to learn! You’ve gotta be able to do that in a weekend, right? Maybe two?
Bodywork. I’ve tried blending paint, replacing sheet metal, and sanding filler, but it never seems to come out right. It does what it’s supposed to do but you can always tell I monkeyed with it.
PDR is basically black magic to me.
I assume I just don’t have the patience it takes to make it look right.
I’ve spackled a wall or two in my time, in hopes of keeping a security deposit, so I have it in my head that I could do a Bondo job well enough. I almost certainly couldn’t, but I’m not gonna let that likely reality interfere with my comfortable daydreams.
Parallel parking.
I’ve been driving for over 30 years in several different countries, and it’s just not something I’ve every had to do all that much. Frankly, I still kind of suck at it.
Oh well...perhaps I’ll have it licked someday. If I don’t, I won’t fret much about it either.
This is another one I learned on the job, actually. I worked as a lot attendant at a GM dealership, constantly shuffling cars around, and that’s where I mastered the art of parallel parking. Practice makes perfect.
I’d like to do off road driving and motorcycle riding beyond the dirt roads I usually travel but that would require buying a dirt bike and a 4x4.
I also really want a CDL and to master a Road Ranger transmission
Consider: Buy the cheapest dirt bike you can get your hands on. How much could it be? Ten dollars?
Incident free races on iRacing are a current goal.
I want to finally get a track day in this year, whether in a rented car or mine.
When you say “incident,” are you talking about a crash or a wifi disconnect? You should always be gaming on a wired network connection.