Hi there, well, first of all, let me ask you wt is your budget, because starting with that, we can consider what changes to do.
If you drop in the M44 crank (83,5mm) and S50 pistons (86mm), you would end up with "only" 1929cc, that´s far from your limit...
Using S52 pistons (86,4mm) would push you up to 1947cc, still not there...
But using the allmighty M47 crankshaft (pricey, but worth it) along with stock M44 (85mm) pistons, would put you on 1997cc, that looks much better, you would only need to shave the pistons 2,5mm, and your deck height would be set at "0" and CR would be 10,8:1.
Much more torque from the bottom, and nice and good compression ratio.
Cost? Well, If I were you, I would look for a full M44 spare engine, so you don´t have to look out for M44 pistons, and you wouldn´t have to bore out the block to fit the M44 pistons.
So a nice and clean M44 engine should cost no more than $400-$500.
I bought my used M47 crank off ebay for $500, shaving pistons should cost no more than $80. balance all together about $80, and rebuild gaskets, bearings etc... $300.
All adds up to $1500, decent price for a nice 2.0L motor with huge potential.
If you have some extra cash after this, drop in a set of S50 inline throttle bodies (only 4 of course...) I bought my set for $300 on ebay, and is a pretty much straight fit (minor work involved...) on our cylinder head.
This is just my thinking, someone else is very welcome to bring in more ideas or discuss my opinion.
I hope to have helped you kidneyboy.