Developing old rolls of colour film as black and white

[Terrence Brennan]

I have three rolls of Kodacolor II 35mm film, and a roll of Kodacolor X 127 film which I want to develop as black and white. Two of the 35mm films are 24 exposure rolls, and the other is a 20 exposure roll, which makes me think that that roll may date from before 1977. The other two rolls came in boxes with expiry dates of 1980; as for the 127 film, who can say?

Anyway, any suggestions as to developer choice and time would be appreciated. I have all of the usual bulk chemicals to make a custom mix, as well as benzatriozole, if required. In any case, I plan to do a clip test on the rolls before proceeding.

 

[RobC]

All the gear and no idea?

I just couldn't resist the temptation.

 

[removed account4]

hi terrence:

i routinely process color film in b/w chemistry. i liked using ansco130 mostly ( when i had the $$ )
nice contrast and grain, and sliced+diced the fog if there were any issues.
i currently process my color film ( just processed 80 +/- sheets of E100 )
in dektol ( does an equally as good job ). came out OK as well. dilutions i typically use are 1:6 for about 7-8 mins ..
can't say what film that old ( and potentially fogged and not suire about stability of a latent image )

good luck
john