The machine shop where I used to run the connecting rod reconditioning department had a BIG belt sander for cleaning up gasket surfaces like that. Just a quick pass over those pits on such a machine would be the best choice, but a very high-temp filler would be the next best thing. J-B Weld won't hold up to the heat present at that junction.
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!