Magnus Walker steps between the scarred carcasses of Porsche 911s lining his garage wall. He pauses and points to a gaping hole where the car's front hood should be.

"Cars in here have to die," he says, "so others can live."

With a chest-length beard and finger-thick dreadlocks, the 45-year-old English immigrant doesn't look like a prototypical buttoned-down Porsche collector. But for more than a decade, Walker has worked in downtown L.A.'s arts district, transforming scrap heaps into one-off custom 911s, earning him the nickname "Urban Outlaw."

"I don't build white-glove, Pebble Beach show cars," he says. "I'm building cars for myself."

What once was an expensive obsession may now become a lucrative profession. Already a successful businessman, Walker has started a new company to sell merchandise and the accessories that have become his signature 911 modifications to a cult of followers.

Each of his 911s still has Porsche's trademark large oval headlights, low front hood and sloping teardrop roofline that give the car its legendary silhouette. But Walker's custom touches -- drilled-out door handles, trunk lids with horizontal slats cut into the metal -- give them a hot rod edge.

His handiwork is on display across the street from the "chop shop" in a showroom-like garage filled with classic Porsche advertisements, rows of vintage license plates and oil-smeared car parts. More than a dozen candy-colored 911s from 1964 through 1973 sit parked and ready for the road.

Look closely. No two cars are the same.

There's a 1966 Irish green 911 with wooden interior accents and black vinyl interior. A few steps away is a 1965 silver 911 with a houndstooth interior and Porsche black side stripe. Front and center is a 1972 911 STR decked out in white with red and blue accents and gold wheels.

"I've got to make the next car better than the last one," he said. "I don't chase originality, but if I stumble upon it, I don't turn away."

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