430exII + ElanII/EOS50...help?

Okay, so in using my speedlite on my digi, I set camera to manual and use speedlite in ETTL, using FEC and histogram to get perfect exposure. Works great. I don't have a histogram on the film camera, obviously, and I don't trust the in-camera or flash meter, so I cannot hand over total control here...how do you meter with a speedlite on a film camera? I have a light meter coming soon...

Do you use a sync cord and then just over expose the usual amount you normally would? And in doing that, would you increase fec or over expose via the camera(increasing f. stop or lowering ss)?

How do you do it?

Why don't you trust the in-camera meter? In my experience, dedicated flashes work really well on the cameras they are designed for, as long as you make judicious use of exposure over-ride when you are shooting subjects of non-average reflectance.
EDIT: I don't know if you have seen this review, but it might help if you haven't:
http://photo.net/equipment/canon/canon-elanII