Put my first cylinder and piston on and the deck height looks really low. Measures out to .2mm. That's got to be too low! Right? Thoughts?

Yes too low. General consensus is min. .035 to .040 (1mm). Thicker cyl. base shims required.

Seems to me your question should have included your compression ratio goal and actual with no shims vs a question about just the height. There is alot more to it than just the height. Use this link to get the CR result you want. You can work backwards to get the total thickness of shims and resulting height.

https://www.cbperformance.com/v/enginecalc.html

There are other calculators out there just google it.

Clark

Exactly.

What compression ratio are you targeting?

Going for stock 8.2. Trying to keep the cost down, its mostly a learning experience. Domed pistons are above the cylinders with no shims, peripheral clearance .65 mm. Heads are stock heads, no machining just cleaned up new springs and valves.

Domed pistons?

Are you building a 1.7? Domed? I have seen domed 1.7 pistons but not 2.0. Of course I can say I have not seen everything.

Is there a step cut in the head.....that has to be taken into account....

Show us some pictures.

Thanks everyone for their input. Greg at Fat Performance got me set up with new shims for the proper height.

Did you CC your heads, yet? It's simple and you'll need that info to go forth? I've got a home made set up I'll loan you for the cost of shipping if you need one.