Balefire

I already have a prepped to the legal limit SCCA A-Street car (my 996).
But I am considering prepping my new to me completely stock FD R1 for AS also.
I am not aiming to be competitive nationally with this car. just for fun.

My good buddy who has won multiple national championships thinks its a bad idea.
In fact, he bought a super cheap FD a decade ago and killed it autocrossing.
Is the short distance autocross heat that bad?
If I did autocross my stock car, what reliability mods that are SCCA street legal should I do to prevent my stock car from blowing up?

Thanks!