A Look Inside: Frank Macaluso, Garageaholic, & Engine Swaps
With car enthusiasts, there are different definitions held among those who consider themselves ‘car folks’ as to what it means to be a real enthusiast. For many, simply enjoying the car as more than just a transportation appliance is enough. They don’t need to change anything, spend any time under the hood, or make the car unique in any way: they enjoy it as it came. There is nothing wrong with displaying that kind of enthusiasm for your car, and we can certainly call it enthusiasm, but for many including myself, that level of interest is only a part of what it means to be a true champion of your hobby. It lacks an element of ownership that can only be achieved through the dirty, knuckle-busting, dedication to reciprocating your car’s loyalty. Often, the response to that requirement is that owners either don’t have the time or the knowledge to be that kind of caretaker. They aren’t able to create a two-way street, so to speak, with their car; it provides them a service and enjoyment, but they cannot offer it an equal level of investment beyond dropping it off at their mechanic’s for maintenance. Those like Frank Macaluso, the genius behind Garageaholic on YouTube, find that response to be an invalid excuse. Frank, however, doesn’t just turn his nose up to the enthusiasts who feel they aren’t able to do the work they normally pay others to perform, he gives them the tools to do it and the motivation to see it through. |
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“Everyone has an excuse not to do something. Its having the motivation and discipline to do it, you can get around those excuses.”
Garageaholic, for those who have yet to discover the channel, is an example of car enthusiasm as a hobby that was fed a steady diet of steroids and explored to its highest degree. Frank, from his home garage in his free time, shows viewers in-depth looks at complicated modifications, primarily engine swaps, with all your favorite BMWs. What makes the channel special, though, isn’t the work itself, but the proof it provides to viewers that no job is too much for you to tackle at home. It may take an investment in your tool collection or the development of new skills, but Frank shows audiences that anyone with real interest that it is possible to be more than just a passive owner. He shows you how to reach a level of self-sufficiency that makes you a confident provider for your BMW.
Frank, like many of us, began as just an owner and enthusiast. He was not a trained mechanic, but he was motivated and displayed a desire to work on his BMWs from a young age. His history with BMWs goes back a few decades, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that his enthusiasm turned into more than just an affinity for the brand and the need to perform maintenance at home. In his early days, he was just a BMW enthusiast with an E30 325es handed down to him from his stepfather. At the time, all he could afford to do with it was wash it and use it as regular transportation. While he wasn’t initially thrilled with the E30, as the E36 was the hot item then, it quickly worked its way into his heart as the chassis so often does with those who tout the supremacy of the E30.
As a sixteen-year-old with an E30, he developed a real passion to tinker and work on the car. He wanted to learn everything about it, partially out of necessity to keep the car on the road, and partially out of genuine interest to learn new skills and collect the tools that would allow him to continue servicing the car. Shortly after becoming interested in his E30, he purchased another BMW, an E34. This gave him the opportunity to dig in to his E30 and make something creative and unique at the time: a ‘335i’ E30 with an M30. By 25, he had taught himself everything he needed to know to be dangerous and had completed the 5-series engine swap himself. |
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“I want to do something that really challenges me.”
With that self-taught knowledge and the self-reliance achieved through his ability to diagnose, maintain, service, and upgrade his BMWs, he realized the interest had developed into a real relationship with his cars. The sense of ownership, pride, and rewarding experiences offered gratification to Frank and helped him forge a real relationship with his cars. That knowledge, and tool collection, were also what led to his next steps as an enthusiast.
Simply keeping the hobby and knowledge he had accrued to himself wasn’t enough. While he didn’t set out with the intention to be a teacher, motivator, and resource, it was a position that came naturally enough. Frank is an excited person, he receives satisfaction from more than his accomplishments, but from the accomplishments of others. It is easy to see in his videos that there is more than just a passion for the activity; it is that twinkle of knowledge you see in his eyes that shows his excitement to provide something for someone else. In our conversation, that investment in others was made even clearer.
After his E30 M30b30 swap was completed, it drew attention on the then-popular R3vlimited forum. It may not be the hub for BMW enthusiasts it once was, but at the time, R3v was the information source. It served as Frank’s library while he learned and quickly became his first outlet to contribute to the BMW conversation as an expert. He posted responses to questions about his swap eagerly. Soon, he realized he wouldn’t have the time to answer them all individually. That prompted Frank to write up an FAQ about the swap that answered many of the common questions he encountered and to offer some of the important information someone would need to complete the swap themselves. Naturally, people continued asking questions, prompting him to add to the FAQ and repeat the cycle. |
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“About halfway through my project, I started to realize that I could make these guides. I needed to make a marketable solution.”
That first FAQ eventually became full documentation of the swap that answered every question, start to finish, and was recognized as a true guide on R3v. With the responses and the feedback from those who followed through with his guides, Frank was exposed to a bigger world of car enthusiasm. He recognized a need to be that first push novices require to transition from casual interest to dedicated passion, and his guide was the means to be that motivation.
Shortly after that first M30 swap guide, Frank found himself in a position to buy a house with a larger garage, a lift, and more space to pursue his hobby. Once again, this is not his day job. He is just like you and me; an enthusiast. What differentiates Frank from the hobbyist, though, is his followthrough. He makes the sacrifices necessary to progress rather than stagnate in a complacency that says ‘this is enough.’ That drive, as it turns out, brought the community a true resource. From his new garage, he was able to fully invest in providing documentation that takes enthusiasts from the driver’s seat to under the car engaging in all the aspects of car ownership.
With his new shop and a new project that came in the form of an E31 8-series, Frank began producing videos. Once again, he isn’t a trained videographer, editor, or filmmaker. He is just an enthusiast with the passion required to go out, put his hands on something, learn it, and use his experience to teach others. His E31 videos began as rough how-tos on YouTube, but he realized this was a way to finance his hobby. With the benefit to the viewership funding added to his natural sense of reward in his creation, Frank began to give us what many of us may recognize now. He has since produced full, in-depth, DIY guides for complex engine swaps into classic BMWs.
If subtext is something you have a gift for recognizing, surely you were able to infer when his first M30 swap guide was written. When Frank began his venture, that was the affordable upgrade that was available. It was more than bolt-ons in terms of performance and was attainable on a budget. While he was honing his skills, though, the M30 fell out of favor and the M5x/S5x platform became king. Frank never went down that route, as the M30 gave many of the benefits seen in those engines, so he took on the next challenge.
V8s became his area of interest and he began producing guides for how to swap BMWs with the biggest powerplants available from the Bavarian manufacturer. With his new shop, years of experience, and motivation to continue his hobby driving him, Frank supplemented his interest in BMWs with his ultimate passion for becoming a vessel through which those without ability can find education and inspiration.
After the V8 guides, Frank has been able to move into the modern age. Most recently, he wrote the book on what it takes to swap an N54 into an E36. Thanks to the interest and feedback he received from his first guides, he was able to take on this monumental task with all the experience and creativity he gathered from those first ventures. Anyone who has embarked on an uncommon or undocumented swap knows how difficult the finer details can be when it comes to making it to the first start. Frank drew on all that accrued knowledge and in six months was able to bring the world one of the only N54-powered E36s. Soon, that knowledge will be available to enthusiasts who want to undertake this upgrade themselves with yet another guide Frank will provide with all the documentation, tips, and tricks he gathered as he did it himself. |
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“Everything was self-taught. Every time I needed a tool, I would buy it and eventually I had a pretty good collection of tools. There’s nothing I need now. Everything I have has a purpose.”
From these guides, enthusiasts can take their interest or simple hobby to the levels they thought unreachable. Due either to lack of motivation, perceived lack of time, or lack of support, many folks only have videos on YouTube to satisfy their interest in project cars. With Frank’s channel ‘Garageaholic,’ though, it is more than just entertainment at the superficial level. It is an ability to pass his motivation and experience on to viewers and help them embark on the same journey he started over twenty years ago. What has kept him going is the gratification he receives from those who follow through with his guides and get to that same moment of achievement where they successfully turn the key the first time. |
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“I need to teach them how to interpret the information, like how to read diagrams and conduct research, because that’s more effective than just showing them every single piece of info. I’ve never seen people make that kind of information available along with a DIY guide except in rare forum posts.”
The positivity and sense of reward he has from those successful enthusiasts who used his information, his education, and his sense of motivation to make it through a challenge is what keeps Frank in the garage doing what he does best: creating something fun and engaging that represents his interest. Of course, he does recognize that his hobby isn’t just something an interested person could just pick up and start. It does take some research, some education, and some prerequisite knowledge, but Frank doesn’t want that to stop anyone.
At some point, even the most expert of sources was a novice with no experience. The difference between them and the layperson is the drive to get out and risk failure with the understanding that it will serve as a lesson and lay the groundwork for success. With that, Frank can offer a bit of a shortcut. While he had to seek out, learn, and apply certain bits of knowledge, like wiring and fabrication, he makes it easy for his audience by passing on his experience to them. He includes motivational and educational material at the beginning of his guides to help supplement the abilities of his readers. With the information they need to develop a skill on their own, rather than a ‘monkey-see-monkey-do’ approach, he gives those who benefit from his guides the tools to fish for themselves.
Which, at its root, is what Frank wants most. He is highly engaged by BMW ownership, maintenance, and the creative outlet the cars provide. More than those aspects, though, Frank recognizes that he has an innate ability to motivate others to step out of their comfort zones and pursue the same interest he holds so dear. Anyone can set out to learn something, become proficient, and reap the benefits of their creativity. It takes a dedicated enthusiast, though, to extend that interest beyond their garage and into others’. He offers an introduction to what many believe to be this mythical ability that is nothing more than practice and applied, learned, skills. He serves as the bridge between theoretical and practical in terms of BMW ownership; Frank is the tangible resource that proves anyone can go out and be the enthusiast they wish they were by putting the knowledge and tools they need within their reach, tested through the crucible of self-teaching, mistakes, and years of experience pursuing the interest in the same way. |
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“These big budget builds make people intimidated. Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle or end. You’ll never get started. You’re comparing apples to oranges and that makes people give up.”
From your home, you, whatever your knowledge level is, can do everything from the most basic of services to full-bore engine swaps in your BMW. With a little dedication, some interest, and resources like Frank, your relationship with your BMW can become more equal. With an ability to reciprocate the services your BMW provides you with services you can provide your BMW, and your hobby, your experience as an enthusiast can be at its fullest. What Frank proves is that anyone can do this; there is no job too extensive, too demanding, that is beyond your reach. With his help and the information available to you here at Turner Motorsport, you can take your casual interest to a genuine enthusiasm, make your BMW representative of your enthusiasm rather than just a purchased interest. It becomes a tangible example of your care, your dedication, and your love. If you ever need motivation, just look to folks like Frank Macaluso who show that you too can grab a set of tools and start down a path to self-reliance and a new sense of ownership you have always envied.
Currently, Frank is working on the final touches to the N54 swap guide, which will be a 200+ page DIY, that can take you start to finish on your own swap. As well, at the time of this writing, he is welcoming his new son to the world, who we know will have an amazingly dedicated father to raise her in the world of BMW enthusiasm.
In his garage, his latest project is an E30 touring, which you can follow at Garageaholic. If you need information on how to do a swap of your own, Frank is your resource. For the parts to do it, check out Turner Motorsport and our own library in Keys to Performance to make it the best it can be, right there in your home garage.
We want to extend a massive thank-you to Frank for his time to speak with us at Turner Motorsport and as well a heartfelt congratulations on his newborn. From all of us in the Turner Motorsport community, we are excited to welcome one more addition to the family. |
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