declan, I failed to see the key question: Are you on a G5, or earlier machine?
Apple's G5s do NOT support "Classic" OS 9. G4s and earlier do run OS 9 in Classic.
I have a separate (60gb HD) that I have OS 9.2.2 installed on and have directed the OSX to that system folder when I need to launch Classic. I find however, that when I need to print something from Word or other "Classic" programs I have to re-start on the OS 9 drive and use the setups there, then go back to my startup disk and restart on OSX to get back to normal. I still can't figure that one out. If I try to use MS Word by launching it in OSX and Classic starts and Word opens - all OK, but when I go to print I get an error message that says "can't find printer". go figure.
Hope That sheds some light, Sparky