The addition of a limited slip diff to the rearend should help it's longevity -- the spider gears are the weak link, and with an open diff and all the torque going to one side, that's the worst case for the spiders. Get an LSD in it. The TrueTrac has worked fine in mine -- 3.73 gears in a 1031 rearend.

In addition to SSVolvo's thoughts about managing heat (intercoolers, size, placement, etc.) I'd add that you need to think about the fuel system. I don't know if the stock Volvo electric fuel pump is up to the task of supplying enough fuel for the boosted motor. The key to really making the supercharged set ups work nicely is the tune, and the more radical the boost set up is, the more the tune is recommended -- so I'd plan on spending some $ on a chip, or a twEECer so you can tune it yourself. And depending on whether you go with an fmu or upgrading the maf/injector size --- other changes to the fuel system may be required. I'd want to step up the injector size in any event to be on the safe side.

If your engine compartment is as tight as mine is, then any of the centrifugal units that are driven off of a pulley which mounts in front of the drive pulley on the crank simply won't work -- they'll interfere with the rad. The Powerdyne's are set up that way. The others will likely require repositioning of other stuff (battery, windshield washer tank, etc.) unless that's already been done -- some mount on the driver's side/some on the passenger's side.

Whether intercooled or not, you'll need to route cold intake air to the unit --- the conical under the hood picking up hot air will have to go. What is that air filter arrangement you have anyway -- looks like a hose of some sort duct taped to the end of the conical.

The centrifugals don't do a lot for power increase under 2500 rpm but come on strong above 3500. Great for racing -- not that much fun for slogging through day to day traffic on the street. The positive displacement units like the Kenne-Bell set up will create gobs of torque down low, but not as much peak power as the centrifugals. So you have a choice to make. If you go K-B -- 2 things to watch out for. First, the set up for the Mustang wouldn't fit on mine (242) -- it interferes with the power brake booster. So if you go that way, take some careful measurements before you commit. Second -- it's much more difficult to intercool the positive displacement units. The good news is that they're more efficient than the centrifugals and don't heat the air as much. Either way (cent. or pos. disp) -- alcohol/water injection is another approach that can be taken to chill down the compressed charge.

As for the tranny -- they (t5 or AOD) are marginal behind the stock 5.0. The good news is that it's highly likely you won't have anywhere near enough traction to hurt the thing in 1st or 2nd gear. :) But you may well end up with enough torque/traction to hurt it in 3rd or 4th. But if you tear it up -- time to upgrade the tranny. Same on the rearend. However, there are lots of more powerful 350 Chevy powered cars out there that have been motoring around for a while without hurting the rear end. I suppose the most important variable isn't the amount of torque but rather how you drive it.

The 5.0's switched to hypereutectic pistons (from forged) late in the 92 model year for the Stang motors. If you're gonna boost, the forged pistons are preferred. You can run modest boost or nitrous with the hypers -- but you have to be very careful of your tune. One run that goes a bit lean, and you can really tear things up as the hypers fail catostrophically when they fail.

The stock efi lower intake is VERY restrictive. You'd do yourself a favor by upgrading the intake manifold when you add the charger. And of course anything you can do to help the exhaust side will be beneficial -- ESPECIALLY if you're running a single 3" system.

As for bumping the power up by going naturally aspirated -- you can build a 350-400HP efi naturally aspirated 302. But when they start putting out that much power, they usually lose torque on the bottom, which often makes them not nearly as much fun to drive on the street. So beware.

Lastly - keep in mind that the stock thin wall casted block isn't the strongest piece in the world. The Mustang forums are FULL of stories of guys getting up over 400HP and splitting the stock blocks down the middle. The block itself is the weak link. If you're serious about making HP/torque, an upgraded block is good insurance that you won't take out all the rest of the internals when the stock block lets go under boost.