Design
Concept and specification work before a spanner is lifted — colour, stance, trim, drivetrain. We help you decide what the car should be.
Design · Build · Paint · Restoration
'80s & '90s Legends.
Nostalgia, Engineered.
Fifty combined years in the motor trade, one workshop, zero shortcuts. We restore and reimagine the poster cars of the golden era — helping you build the cool old-school car you've always dreamed of.
What we do
Four crafts. One roof.
Build
Fabrication, mechanical work and assembly. Period-correct or fully reimagined — engineered to be driven, not trailered.
Paint
Bare-metal preparation and refinishing in our own booth. Factory codes matched or something entirely yours.
Restoration
Ground-up revivals of the cars that defined the era. Documented at every stage, from strip-down to first start.
The proof
In the workshop
Every build is documented from arrival to handover. Follow the day-to-day on Instagram and TikTok — the finished articles live here.
Build 01
Corrado G60
Adrian's 1988 Corrado G60 — 22 years of ownership and multiple nut-and-bolt restorations. The house standard.
Build 02
Mk2 Golf
The 1992 Golf that started it all — restored by Rich and Adrian at the beginning of their friendship.
Build 03
The Details
Stance, fitment, finish — the difference between done and done properly.
The storyTwo mates,
Two mates,
one obsession.
AR Custom Works started the way the best garage stories do — with a 1992 Golf. Adrian helped Rich restore it at the very beginning of their friendship, and the two have been building, restoring and obsessing over '80s and '90s cars together ever since.
Between them: fifty years in the motor trade, countless restorations, and a shared soft spot for old watercooled Volkswagens. From the workshop in Langley Mill they now help others build the cool old-school cars they've always dreamed of — one car at a time, done properly.
Adrian
Co-founder · Body & Paint30+ years in car body repair, restoration and modification — from running his own body shops to managing the European Body Shop Programme for Lucid Motors. Drives a 1988 Corrado G60 he's owned for 22 years.
Rich
Co-founder · Parts & ProjectsNearly 20 years in the motor trade — Volkswagen Nottingham, then TPS as the go-to specialist for older watercooled VW and Audi parts, then 15 years in automotive procurement. If it exists, Rich can find it.
Start a projectTell us about
Tell us about
your car.
Whether it's a running project, a barn find or an idea you've carried since 1994 — send the details and we'll come back with an honest conversation, not a hard sell.
- Workshop
- Langley Mill, Nottingham
- Coverage
- Projects taken UK-wide