Head Gasket or Head

[3929R]

I seem to recall there was some discussion on the Elan forums a while back about trying to get Miles to put it back into print (or why not a PDF version ?).   I think he tried to do so but it was too costly in the end ?

Would he consider releasing the copyright for someone to make a PDF of it?  Although the author may not hold the copyright.  He may have released it to the publisher?    I believe Google Books already has it scanned but you can only preview a portion of it due to copyright issues-  http://books.google.com/books?id=b66Qyh9bdpUC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false 

[EuropaTC]

Hi Mark,

I checked back on lotuselan.net and it was 2010 when he (Miles) was trying to get a new print run himself, so I guess he still has the copyright.   I can't say for sure but it sounds likely because there was this comment on the same topic in 2012 when that German supplier was being discussed again;

"I seem to recall talking to Miles Wilkins about his book that this chap was selling and he was livid about it. It seems that the copy of his book is unauthorised"

The reason given why it hadn't been reprinted in 2010 was the publisher's costs which makes me think it's not happened because the master is in either paper format or some obscure word processor plus a folder of pictures.  If you think about it, it was probably written in 87/88 and at that time PCs weren't in common use in the UK and very few had photographic graphics/desktop publishing capabilities. Which is a shame because these days with print-on-demand books there could be a nice little sideline.

[LotusJoe]

If someone is willing to sacrifice the paperback version of the book, I can scan into a pdf. The spine of the book has to be cut off. Not sure Miles would be thrilled, but maybe we could sell it for him on the LotusEuropa.org site as an eBook. Maybe worth a shot to explore. I think the reality is, even if the book went to another printing, how many is he really going to sell?  Even if you count all the Elans, Europa, Cortina guys, or anyone who has that engine, I think the market is quite small.

[EuropaTC]

(part quote)
I think the reality is, even if the book went to another printing, how many is he really going to sell?  Even if you count all the Elans, Europa, Cortina guys, or anyone who has that engine, I think the market is quite small.

Yes, I agree with you Joe, I doubt he'd sell 100 copies and I bet that's the real reason there hasn't been another conventional print run because the sums don't add up.

Although the ones on Ebay always sell well there are usually only a few bidders and even if you take all the potential owners of TC engines then I'd bet that well over 50% have no interest at all in rebuilding their own engine.