Chevrolet Repair: Chevy LT1 Squealing, metal flake, exhaust valve

Question
Hello,
I have a 94 Formula with 90k miles on it.  The car has a squealing from what seems like the intake manifold area.  It pings like valve pinging and overheats, the exh manifolds got red hot today but the H20 temp gauge only read 210,but later dipped into the red after shutting off, and it was stumbling.  I started it up, and now it squeals louder.  There is no metal flake in the engine oil and don't think it is bearings. The car misses and pings on hills and loses power.  Any suggestions???

Answer
ok, got to think a minute. LT1....is the distributor on the front of the engine under the water pump? if it is, you most likely have a bad distributor. the reason for the cherry manifolds is the timing is off. the exhaust valve is opening up during the firing process. those engines had problems with the distributor. also, you might want to put a new water pump on it while youre there. ok, now the temp after shutoff. you cherried up the manifolds and shut off the engine. the block absorbed all that heat, and without the coolant flowing to cool down, it absorbed the heat. result, high temp. i cant remember if you can adjust the timing on those, but if you can, try it. call the dealer and ask them if there is a proceedure to do that. if you cant, you know its bad. good luck.