That's what one might naturally assume. It's fair to assume a high-end build would have had this process done. Like this example: my friend's Salsa had bottom bracket issues back in the 80's. He spoke to Ross Shafer about it and Shafer ensured him the shell had been faced.

Well, the adage, "trust but verify" applies here. So I put the facing tool to the shell and sure enough, it was NOT flat or parallel. It definitely needed to be faced, despite Shafer's assurances. Glad I "verified!" Not a HUGE deal in the end.

Thanks for the replies. Sorry I didn't reply sooner.

After some more thought on the matter, and additional inspection of the BB shell, I'm going to face it. I'd expect this to ADD value to the bike as far as its "condition" is concerned. And facing will obviously add mechanical and durability value in the long run. It will also help avoid premature failure of the original bottom bracket. I obviously want this to remain as stock as possible.

Thanks for everyone's input.

I'll snap pics of the facing process and share what I learn and see. I've been sidetracked with some other projects, so I've been slow in returning to this project. Hope to make progress this weekend.