Toyota Repair: 89 Corolla radiator, radiator shop, temp gauge

Question
Hi Ted,

 Thanks for volunteering to answer our questions, it's greatly appreciated.  On the center bottom of my radiator (almost straight down the cap) there appears to be a swing-arm type switch or valve and seems to have about 15-20 degrees of motion straight up and down.  What is this?

Also, what is the average range of temperature the car should be running at?  The meter in console bubble is at least half to 3/4 of the way towards the red and just makes me wonder if its time to replace the thermostat or if there's another issue.

Again, thanks in advance :)
Reuben

Answer
This is probably an aftermarket radiator or a radiator drain device that was installed, it's used to drain the radiator, the temp gauge on the dash should stay at 1/2 or a little lower, if it goes near the red zone then the engine is starting to overheat, the most common item would be the thermostat it's the first thing to replace, after that if it still overheats the cooling fan may not be coming on or the radiator could be partially restricted in which case it should be removed and cleaned out at a radiator shop or it may need to be replaced.