True! I actually had to take the grinder to mine, b/c it was protruding from the plate more than the thickness of the gasket. So, I flushed it up with the flap disc and cleaned it out... forgot about that bit, since I did it a while back.
Marshall: Got Nibs. just not as prominent as later ones. I think they must be vents for the gases in the mold when the cast iron is poured.
I see. Interesting. Mine had about half of them there the other half were missing. I even found one in the pan. The ones still atached were easily snapped off with my finger. Probably wouldn't do an engine good to have those flying around inside the motor. Couldn't imagine they could get through the oil pump but who knows.