RE: Do valves burn without a muffler?
Bill:
Valve burn in a glow 4c engine? No. Warp? yes.
What happens, as Jim said, is the cold air hitting the hot valve. This can happen either at the time of a normal shut down with the valve open, or a backfire causing the cool air to be drawn in.
With a pipe at least two inches long you should have no trouble.
Bill.