If the 9GB drive is a single partition, I'm not sure you'll be able to read it on the 800 even with 8.1.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TA27115?viewlocale=en_US

Have you got access to a PCI Mac, Windows or Linux box with appropriate SCSI card and cables for these drives available to borrow long enough to have a look?

Linux distros should have hfsplus included, and with Windows you could try HFS Explorer just to see if there is anything on the drives worth worrying about.