Exhaust manifold gaskets

if you don't like the look of the connections between the functional pieces of the gasket, install them and then cut the offending parts away. IMHO, I absolutely cannot imagine installing those manifolds on heads with nothing in between. Wouldn't any little imperfection in surface and alignment guarantee a leak? How much torque do you have to put on those fragile manifolds to get a real seal? Even the thin metal factory gaskets had a crush bead around the ports.