It is always advisable to build images on the most recent mac hardware you have. Once in a while it is necessary to temporarily apply an “old” image to new mac hardware …

First, update the image to the most recent system update on old hardware. Then once you apply that image to the new hardware, if it doesn’t boot the new system, insert the hardware specific Mac OS installation DVD that came with them mac and boot it by holding down the “C” key while booting. Run the system installation to completion normally but without erasing the hard drive if that is part of your normal process.

Once complete your system should boot and should contain most of the software and data that you had on the “old” image. What will be missing are any modifications you made to system files such as those in /System/Library.

Why?

The mac is a file-based operating system. Meaning that everything is contained in discrete files. Reinstalling the hardware specific OS over the top of an existing OS, copies in any of the hardware-specific files needed for your new mac but doesn’t touch any of the non-system files already on the drive.