Pacemaker Graphic Back on a Super Graphic?

[Kirk Fry]

I bought a Super Graphic on Ebay. It looked mostly correct except when I got it the focusing hood was just kind of crammed into the back, no clips. Force fit. It was the correct focusing hood for for a super graphic but the ground glass was loose as the retaining clips were missing. I fixed that and the back works fine but the hood was still goofy. I had to pry it out with a key to focus on the ground glass. A couple of days ago I got a pacemaker speed graphic and I was looking at the back. Something looked familiar. The back was identical to the super I got save the focusing hood. Then I started looking at pictures of super graphics and it was clear the super back on my camera had been substituted with a pacemaker back. Not the rotating part, just the clippy spring part you take off for a roll film adapter. Is this a known interchangeable part? Seems to work fine. Now I need to find a real pacemaker hood and clip retaining system. The hood on the super is made of leather and looks like it will check out soon and I don't like the dark slide clip much and cramming it into the pacemaker back does not seem like a long term solution.

I looked at the graflex.org site and did not find much about this.

Was is possible that early supers had pacemaker focusing backs?

Thanks,

KFry

[Kirk Fry]

I tried to switch the real pacemaker back over to the super and discovered it did not fit perfectly. The spring clips that hold the focusing back on hang up on the retaining screws for the slides that hold film backs in. On the one that came on my super someone has filed the focusing panel retainers on the back so they do not hang up any more on the screws. For someone that has lost their focusing panel for a super this is pretty simple modification. K

[Bill_1856]

Unfortunately, the Super Graphic was apparently "designed" by someone who had never used a Pacemaker Graphic. One of several casulties of this was the loss of the excellent metal focusing hood -- without seeing it I suspect that yours is the correct hood for the Super (and as worthless as the similar unit of the Linhof Technika).
To easily remove the hood, just open it and pull out on one of the sides, and it will easily pop right out.
The Super needed a second generation to work the "bugs" out, but unfortunately never made it to that stage of production. IMO they should have just upgraded the Pacemaker Crown with a removable, rotating back, and a front tilting lens standard, but that is in retrospect, and everybody knows what opinions are like.
Enjoy your Super.