on a Lotus Elite, what's a scuttle?

[sixto]

I found an article on the Lotus Elite (the 50s-60s one, not the 70s one). There is discussion of a body section called the scuttle. Sounds like the front firewall or bulkhead but I can't be sure. So, what's a scuttle?

Thanks,
Sixto
87 300D

[iwrock]

Scuttle is body flex.

[The Swede]

It's part of the car, used numeous times here:
http://www.corvidcreations.com/votus/

Part of the car between the hood and winshield, aka cowl.

[sixto]

"The only steel found in the structure consists of a tube running round the scuttle and around the top of the screen, bonded into the structure and serving as a tie between the roof and the door sills and scuttle..."

Sixto
87 300D

[The Swede]

I found this:
In automotive terms, the cowl is the portion of the vehicle located just below the vehicle’s windshield, specifically located between the engine firewall and the front of the dish panel. It is also often called the scuttle or cowl panel in most European countries. Some people would mistake the term cowl for the hood. This may be because of the other definition of the cowl, which says that it covers the mechanical components of the vehicle, including the engine, fans, etc. This definition, however, applies only to the cowls of airplanes.

[WVOtoGO]

Yep - The area between the windshield lower edge and the firewall.

Quite often, I’ll hear DJ (she’s a Brit for those who don’t already know) refer to putting fuel in the “Scuttle Tank” on the J3 cub or the EA300L. This tank is located between the cockpit and the firewall on both aircraft.

In auto terms, it's the same area.
From the Automotive Terms Dictionary:

Scuttle:
1.A small circular or oval opening fitted in decks to provide access.
2.A British term for cowl

Scuttle panel:
A British term for cowl

Scuttle section:
A subassembly of the body shell that includes the bulkhead, scuttle, and windscreen pillars; it is preassembled in the factory and spot-welded with the other subassemblies to form the body shell

Scuttle shake:
A typical shake exhibited by open cars on rough roads due to lack of torsional stiffness

Scuttle side panel:
A vertical panel at either end of the scuttle

Which leads us to:

Cowl:
1.The part of the vehicle body between the engine firewall and the front of the dashpanel. It usually houses the instruments and the plenum chamber for the heater- ventilation system. The British term is "scuttle."
2.The part of the bodywork which protects and/or provides streamlining for a usually projecting component.

Cowl chassis:
A truck chassis with front fenders and hood as well as the instrument panel. It is used for companies want their own custom body and cab.

Cowling:
1.The part of the bodywork which protects and/or provides streamlining for a usually projecting component.
2.A piece of bodywork that covers the engine area

Cowl panel:
A British term for cowl

Cowl section:
A subassembly of the body shell that includes the bulkhead, cowl, and windscreen pillars; it is preassembled in the factory and spot-welded with the other subassemblies to form the body shell

Cowl shake:
This is a vibration or shake of a vehicle, usually a convertible type, in the cowl area due to lack of torsional rigidity of the frame and body. A certain amount is almost unavoidable in convertibles unless frame-strengthening weight penalties are of no concern.

Cowl side panel:
A vertical panel at either end of the cowl

[Jim B.]

LOTUS:

Lots
Of
Trouble,
Usually
Serious

[t walgamuth]

I would think a scuttle would be an access hole of some type. I seem to remember that in a ship it is an opening you can crawl through.

Tom W

[Botnst]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

I would think a scuttle would be an access hole of some type. I seem to remember that in a ship it is an opening you can crawl through.

Tom W

Hatches have scuttles.
I don't recall them anywhere else.

Oh yeah, it can be used as a verb a couple different ways, too.

[cmac2012]

Originally Posted by Jim B.

LOTUS:

Lots
Of
Trouble,
Usually
Serious

I used to want an Elan, of the 60s, and some of the later models but I have a feeling you're exactly right with that one. And getting parts?

[PaulC]

Originally Posted by WVOtoGO

Yep - The area between the windshield lower edge and the firewall.

Quite often, I’ll hear DJ (she’s a Brit for those who don’t already know) refer to putting fuel in the “Scuttle Tank” on the J3 cub or the EA300L. This tank is located between the cockpit and the firewall on both aircraft.

In auto terms, it's the same area.
From the Automotive Terms Dictionary:

Scuttle:
1.A small circular or oval opening fitted in decks to provide access.
2.A British term for cowl

Scuttle panel:
A British term for cowl

Scuttle section:
A subassembly of the body shell that includes the bulkhead, scuttle, and windscreen pillars; it is preassembled in the factory and spot-welded with the other subassemblies to form the body shell

Scuttle shake:
A typical shake exhibited by open cars on rough roads due to lack of torsional stiffness

Scuttle side panel:
A vertical panel at either end of the scuttle

Which leads us to:

Cowl:
1.The part of the vehicle body between the engine firewall and the front of the dashpanel. It usually houses the instruments and the plenum chamber for the heater- ventilation system. The British term is "scuttle."
2.The part of the bodywork which protects and/or provides streamlining for a usually projecting component.

Cowl chassis:
A truck chassis with front fenders and hood as well as the instrument panel. It is used for companies want their own custom body and cab.

Cowling:
1.The part of the bodywork which protects and/or provides streamlining for a usually projecting component.
2.A piece of bodywork that covers the engine area

Cowl panel:
A British term for cowl

Cowl section:
A subassembly of the body shell that includes the bulkhead, cowl, and windscreen pillars; it is preassembled in the factory and spot-welded with the other subassemblies to form the body shell

Cowl shake:
This is a vibration or shake of a vehicle, usually a convertible type, in the cowl area due to lack of torsional rigidity of the frame and body. A certain amount is almost unavoidable in convertibles unless frame-strengthening weight penalties are of no concern.

Cowl side panel:
A vertical panel at either end of the cowl

Yep to all of the above.

My first experience with scuttle shake involved a 2 AM wringing-out of a 1976 Eldorado convertible in a residential neighborhood one summer evening in the late seventies. I was in the process of whipping the ol' girl around a streetcorner when a god-awful shudder shook the dashboard from side-to-side and almost pulled the steering wheel out of my hands. Damn near pissed myself.

[WVOtoGO]

Originally Posted by PaulC

Yep to all of the above.

My first experience with scuttle shake involved a 2 AM wringing-out of a 1976 Eldorado convertible in a residential neighborhood one summer evening in the late seventies. I was in the process of whipping the ol' girl around a streetcorner when a god-awful shudder shook the dashboard from side-to-side and almost pulled the steering wheel out of my hands. Damn near pissed myself.

Now there’s a tank of a car.
A friend of mine had one (his moms actually) back in my sophomore year of HS.

The few things I remember about it:
1. It was baby blue with a white interior.
2. It was huge.
3. It had front wheel drive.
4. It had something like a 501 engine in it. (not sure on that #, but it was BIG)
-and-
5. If you mashed the gas from a dead stop, it would sit there spinning the front tires while making the biggest, thickest white cloud I had ever seen.

[cmac2012]

My mother used to be a stockbroker and one of her aging clients gave her his El Dorado of about the same vintage.

Oh man, you are exactly right: tank, body by Fisher. I remember the front doors were very long (coupe) and you could tell they were so heavy they'd break your leg if a rogue wind ever caught one at the wrong time.

What a monster.