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No, but they'll help. Depending upon the original chassis design of your hot rod, adding additional frame crossmembers (or subframe connectors in unibody-type chassis) will serve to firm up the ride. The purpose of such enhancements are to not only provide a more stable foundation for your suspension to work with, but in doing so to transfer the energy transmitted from the road to the suspension, rather than allowing it to twist the chassis. To improve ride quality, some early chassis (Fords in particular) were designed to flex and provide additional suspension action. In today's world, we prefer to strengthen the chassis to prevent flex and let the suspension do the work.

Racers learned how the addition of a safety cage also served to strengthen the overall chassis by tying it all together. If you want additional strength but aren't willing to add a full cage, well-engineered frame mods can make a big improvement. Due to the wide range of chassis designs living under the wide range of rods, customs, and musclecars out there, it makes sense to get advice from others who have built similar cars to your own.

Weight is a factor, as is the true purpose of the car you're building. A freeway reacher with a mild Flathead Ford engine in a '32 Roadster will have different needs than a later Dodge Dart with a blown Hemi built to run the quarter-mile. Consult with a chassis expert, research how other cars like yours have been successfully modified, and make your call after understanding all the options available to you. This is one of the many cases where research before the work begins will make a big difference in the quality of the final product once the work is done.

Engine-wise, lubrication and cooling are your priorities here. Open road racing like this taxes these systems highly, and by adding more capacity to both your oiling and cooling systems, your chances of finishing without any concerns are improved greatly.

You can add more lubrication system capacity by adding an aftermarket oil pan. Typical aftermarket high-capacity oil pans are either deeper than factory pans, wider than factory pans, or both. These pans typically bring other benefits to the party, like windage trays or oil scrapers to help keep oil off the spinning crankshaft counterweights and get it back in the oil pan where it can get to work.

Naturally, the upgrade to a high-performance synthetic oil will also help, as synthetics aid in keeping temperatures down.

With regard to the cooling system, adding additional coolant capacity through the addition of a higher-capacity multi-core radiator is a good move. A thorough inspection of all cooling system components, from the hoses to the belts to the water pump, is strongly recommended. Adding some coolant system additive will also help.

Driving at high speeds for long distances will bring more heat to your cooling system than it's used to. If you're prepared for it, there should be no issues.

Consider the addition of an external oil cooler and/or transmission cooler, too. An additional cooler for the engine oil will naturally make the water-based cooling system's job easier, and they're easy to install.

You can, and if you're a performance enthusiast, you should. Synthetic oils have proven their worth in years of racing. They offer less friction, lower operating temperatures, and double the oil life (or more). Your engine investment is more completely protected, and while it costs more money up front, the long-term benefits of synthetic oils justifies the expense.

Many professional engine builders recommend breaking the engine in on traditional petroleum-based products, and then switch over to synthetics once the new engine has seated its rings.

Another concern is oil leakage. Naturally, a hot rod engine shouldn't have any oil leaks, but we live in the real world where these things happen. Synthetic oils sure seem to find leaks more than traditional petroleum-based oils do. If a gasket leaks a little with petroleum oil, it will probably leak a bit more with synthetic.

So, fix any leaks, and confidently step up to synthetic oils. You'll be able to keep that oil in the crankcase for 6,000-7,500 miles, which is more than triple the mileage traditional lubricants can maintain effectiveness for. If you do the math, this can completely justify the additional cost of synthetic oils.

The entire concept of Pro-Touring is to offer greatly improved performance in all aspects of the car. Where most traditional hot rods and later Pro Street machines were heavily focused on improved dragstrip performance, Pro-Touring tenets encourage handling and braking prowess over brutal acceleration. Surely, horsepower upgrades are part of the Pro-Touring program, but being able to effectively plant that power in corners as well as straightaways is the difference. The most obvious Pro-Touring upgrades include larger wheels and tires both front and rear, typically in larger diameter dimensions than were typically offered on the car. The less-obvious upgrades include heavier-duty suspension control devices (like custom springs and anti-sway bars), larger-diameter brake rotors, polyurethane bushings, and an overall lower stance.

As Pro-Touring style has gained popularity, the joy of driving these cars on the open road has served to fuel the enthusiasm. Done correctly, a well-crafted Pro-Touring car can bring modern handling and braking performance to vintage street cars. This performance, teamed with the increased safety that comes with better brakes and modern tires, makes Pro-Touring a very common-sense style. A Pro-Touring car can still be enjoyed at the dragstrip, but the opposite cannot be said with confidence. A car built to excel at drag racing may still be a challenge to pilot on the streets or freeways by comparison.