440 ic cherry red manifold?

[cardoc1975]

Is it normal for the exhaust manifold to get cherry red after a while running.

[jdemaris]

Is it normal for the exhaust manifold to get cherry red after a while running.

No. That can be caused by several things - e.g. exhaust manifold getting thin and close to burning out; a leaking exhaust valve; an overly lean fuel mixture; and maybe a few that don't come to mind at the moment.

[NNAATZ]

no, check the timing or it may be running lean

[H-D]

Expanding on NNAATZ's post: check to see that the advance mechanism in the distributor is functional. The Delco units were pretty reliable, but even they would have corrosion issues if not oiled occasionally. I've seen one of the other make distributors have the advance springs rust & break, leaving the timing fully advanced. When the initial timing was checked & reset, the engine was way weak. It's a good idea to check the advance function when you set the initial timing. HTH

[Ray III]

Don't you guys mean it could be running rich?

[JD440ICD2006]

No, the leaner the mixture, the hotter the exhaust. I thought it would be the other way around too, but it is not.
I had a partial blockage in the fuel line on my 420W, it would turn part of the exhaust cherry hot.