I did assume someone would say, just buy a tele. There are multiple reasons I don't want to do that.
I don't want to have lots of guitars. I probably have more than enough already.
I have tried multiple telecasters and haven't found one I like as much as either of my strats.
If I do what I plan to do, it will still be a strat, and be able to do all (or most) things a strat can do, just with a slightly different bridge sound (plus a new option of bridge and neck).
I like strats because I like how you can just take out one loaded pickguard and pop a different one in.
I apologize, I was just being a smart aleck, I'm sure you'll get it the way you want it. Doing what you're
desiring to do will definitely improve your tech knowledge, awesome endeavor.