have you heard of a freeze plug?

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Yes, we've got freeze plugs in the block. AFAIK every engine does -- I think that the holes are part of the casting process (but I've been wrong soooooo many times I lost count). The freeze plugs seal those holes.

Dave
 
Just to add a little more info to this, the freeze plugs do indeed cover up holes left over during the manufacture of the block. The reason they use flimsy little tin/brass plugs is so the block doesn't crack if the water in the block freezes (in the northern reaches). If the water freezes, the expansion merely pushes the plug out.

FRPP sells a nifty little part that replaces the freeze plugs with actual threaded plugs. You have to tap the block for them (which means it's best done to a bare block so you can ensure the filings have been cleaned out)and it isn't recommended if the possibility of the coolant freezing is present. But they do add a bit of strength to the block by stiffening but how much is anybody's guess.