slant six head gasket

I venture a guess.... a difference in manufacturing process....the old one has all the metal bits connected, including between cylinders, so that the metal layers can be handled as one unit. Not sure why to go around the bolt holes with metal though, unless it is to keep coolant from wicking across and into the bolt holes...but it should not do that anyway with the right paper.

Are there torquing instructon with the new gasket that are different from factory torque procedures? I just helped my son on a torque-to-yield head bolt assembled engine, and the gaskets were very different from what I am used to on older engine designs.