Machining .020" off the piston crown won't weaken it, if you choose to go with a zero deck height. The "front" notch is considerably deeper. The Japanese Diesel pistons I'll be using with a stroker crankshaft and 7" long GMC or flathead Ford V8 connecting rods have a crown around 1/2' thick, so the deck height can be adjusted with no danger of a piston crown blowout. Looking good so far- - - -I'm glad to see somebody thinking outside the box on these old engines! My bored and stroked "216" is going to end up around 258 cubic inches.
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!