Front-end assembly including cowl or dash panel

The front-end assembly (Figure 1.45) is made up from the two front side member assemblies which are designed to carry the weight of the engine, suspension, steering gear and radiator. The suspension system used will affect the design of the panels, but whatever system is used the loads must be transmitted to the wing valances and on to the body panels. The front cross member assembly braces the front of the car and carries the radiator and headlamp units.
The side valance assemblies form a housing for the wheels, a mating edge for the bonnet and a strong box section for attachment of front wings. Both the side frames and valance assemblies are connected to the cowl or dash panel, The front-end assembly is attached to the main floor at the toe panel.
The cowl or dash panel forms the front bulkhead of the body (Figure 1.45) and is usually formed by joining smaller panels (the cowl upper panel and the cowl side panel) by welds to form an integral unit. In some cases the windscreen frame is integral with the cowl panel. The cowl extends upwards around the entire windscreen opening so that the upper edge of the cowl panel forms the front edge
of the roof panel. In this case the windscreen pil- lars, i.e. the narrow sloping construction at either side of the windscreen opening, are merely part of the cowl panel. In other constructions, only a portion of the windscreen pillar is formed as part of the cowl. The cowl is sometimes called the fire wall because it is the partition between the passenger and engine compartments, and openings in the cowl accommodate the necessary controls, wiring and tubing that extend from one compartment to the other. The instrument panel, which is usually considered as part of the cowl panel although it is a complex panel in itself, provides a mounting for the instruments necessary to check the performance of the vehicle during operation. Cowl panels usually have both inner and outer construction, but in certain constructions only the upper portion of the cowl around the windscreen is visible. On many vehicles the front door hinge pillar is also an integral part of the cowl.

Figure 1.45 Complete front-end assemblies
(Rover Group Ltd )
1 Headlamp panel RH and LH
2 Front cross member closing panel
3 Front cross member
4 Bonnet lock panel
5 Headlamp panel reinforcement RH and LH
6 Front wing corner piece RH and LH
7 Bonnet frame extension
8 Bonnet skin
9 Bonnet frame
10 Dash panel
11 Scuttle panel
12 Front bulkhead
13 Chassis leg reinforcement RH and LH
14 Front inner wing RH and LH
15 Front chassis leg RH and LH
16 Subframe mounting RH and LH
17 Front wheel arch RH and LH
18 Front wing RH and LH
19 Battery tray
20 Chassis leg gusset RH and LH
21 Bumper mounting reinforcement RH and LH
22 Chassis leg extension RH and LH
23 A-post rear reinforcement RH and LH
24 A-post front reinforcement RH and LH