Not certain I understand your question, exactly. Or questions. The shiny side of the gasket faces outward and the other side toward the head. The alignment rings are there only to provide a small ledge. "The intake needs to be higher on head" ??? higher as in it needs to sit higher or further away from the head? You can not use two of these gaskets. I've seen folks do that and they always leak. Your alignment rings are something like 3/16 inch thick. If you want a really good seal with this gasket simply use as directed the red variety of RTV sealant. Evan (Coilover) tells me he has used this on a straight 8 engine he has for over 30,000 miles with good results.

~ Jon
1952 1/2 ton with 1959 235 | T5 with 3.07 rear end