Sparrow Automotive

Sparrow Automotive All aspects of classic car repair, restoration and maintenance at sensible prices by someone that loves your car like you do.

.Sparrow Automotive Ltd is a small friendly business that has customer service high on its agenda. We specialise in Citroen's between 1955 and 1992. All staff are fully qualified in motor vehicle repair and maintenance. Yearly servicing, MOT repairs, full engine rebuilds, part and full restorations and one off builds are undertaken with constant attention to detail and with professional workmanshi

p throughout. BMW R series motorcycle engine conversions are available for 2cv, Dyane, Ami, Mehari, vans and Barbour 4x4 cars. Large capacity Visa and 2cv based engine of sizes up to 850cc for any Citroen A series car. Between us we have nearly 70 years of motor trade experience many with Citroen vehicles.

Not one, but 2 local 2cv pick-ups.Both are well used and are essential tools for their owners.
18/08/2026

Not one, but 2 local 2cv pick-ups.
Both are well used and are essential tools for their owners.

An early trip out to Portishead this morning to collect a car that has been sat in a garage for 15 years.The plan is to...
01/07/2026

An early trip out to Portishead this morning to collect a car that has been sat in a garage for 15 years.
The plan is to get the car ready for the daughters wedding next year.
The car holds a lot of sentimental value, so we are going to work with the customer to get the car ship-shape and all sorted, ready for the big day.
We like to travel to collect cars, if gives us a chance to meet the owners, listen to their views and ideas, we then get a good overview of what they want to achieve.
We offer a nationwide and European collection and delivery service, nowhere is too far.
Next week, we are collecting a car from South Cornwall.

29/04/2026

Our 1st year apprentice Theo, rebuilt this engine last week, his first engine rebuild on his own. All his own work from start to finish. This included stripping the engine, fault finding and checking for wear, cylinder head checks for cracks, cleaning and grinding in valves, lapping in cylinder heads, checking condition of barrels and pistons, honing of the barrels, fitting new rings, fitting new seals and gaskets. He has also needed to learn how important cleanliness is and how to manage his time.
He had watched and helped with a few engine builds previously, but he was nervous about doing one all by himself. No need to have worried. This standard 602cc 2cv engine ran like a Swiss watch. Ollie, one of our older tech's, is going through setting the timing dynamically while the engine is run in the test rig. Once it had been run for a about 20 minutes, it's allowed to cool before the head are re-torqued and valve clearances checked and adjusted.
Once it had been confirmed that it was all leak free, it was removed and reunited with the rest of the car.
We are trying to bring on young talent and involve them the classic motor trade. Theo is attending the Bicester Heritage site and doing a 3 year course run by the
We are very proud to support them.
All our staff are fully trained vehicle technicians which means you know that the person working on your car is qualified to do so.




We often bang on about fuel hose.It's something that most people don't even think about. Its pretty important stuff cons...
14/04/2026

We often bang on about fuel hose.
It's something that most people don't even think about.
Its pretty important stuff considering what it transfers and that it can sometimes be under pressure.
It's very common to see the sort of deterioration you can see here in the pictures. Ethanol, which is pretty much in all pump fuels these days, will cause issues with hose not designed to carry it. The hose needs to be Ethanol resistant, you'd be amazed at the amount that is being sold, that's not.
Add to this age and heat and there is a real chance of a problem, which at the minimum, could be a breakdown or at worst, a fire.
Get your specialist or garage to check your hoses and replace them if you can't prove what specification it is. The proper hose isn't cheap but it's cheaper than the issues it can cause.

We've had a real mix of cars in over the last week or so. Here you have a 720cc Ami 8 estate, an 800cc Barbour 4x4 2cv, ...
31/03/2026

We've had a real mix of cars in over the last week or so. Here you have a 720cc Ami 8 estate, an 800cc Barbour 4x4 2cv, a lovely 1972 GS 1220 Club and an early Pembleton which has had a 652cc engine upgrade. We have also had anotherBX GTI turn up that's got a hydraulic leak. Really nice to have some variation in our work.

Special job last week for a good customer who wanted these Citroen BX seats fitted to his 2cv.We often find taller peopl...
29/03/2026

Special job last week for a good customer who wanted these Citroen BX seats fitted to his 2cv.
We often find taller people struggle to get the seat where they want it, or if the do, the seat isn't fully in the runners,this is pretty dangerous. We have seen some very scary seat installations over the years!
There are runner extenders for standard 2cv/Dyane which do help keep the seat in its runner.
With the BX seat (and pretty my every other car seat) having a better runner system than a 2cv, we won't put replacement seats on 2cv bottoms. A custom frame that has multiple pick up points is the way to go.

Early Pembleton in for some work to give it a bit more performance. The original engine was shown to be quite worn on a ...
21/03/2026

Early Pembleton in for some work to give it a bit more performance.
The original engine was shown to be quite worn on a cylinder leakage test.
The upgrades consisted of an increase to 652cc, different camshaft of our own spec, high flow valves, cylinder head porting, increased compression, lighter flywheel and alterations to the jetting on the twin carbs and changes to the ignition maps.
Overall, it's given this little car a nice boost in performance which is exactly what the owner wanted.


At the end of last week, we had a water cooled Citroen in. Flo brought her lovely BX GTI 8v in for a radiator, cooling s...
15/03/2026

At the end of last week, we had a water cooled Citroen in.
Flo brought her lovely BX GTI 8v in for a radiator, cooling system flush and an LHM change. The car is in lovely condition and has been well looked after.
We found a small fluid leak at the rear, so it will be back once we have received the part we need. Looking forward to it.

Here at Sparrow Automotive, we don't like to blow our own trumpet. However, we are quite happy for someone else to do it...
10/09/2025

Here at Sparrow Automotive, we don't like to blow our own trumpet. However, we are quite happy for someone else to do it.
Below is an email received yesterday from a new customer with a mid 80's 2cv that came in for steering work. Upon road testing the car, it was clear that there were other faults the customer wasn't aware of, even though it had been through other specialists.
We pointed these out and priced the work.
Sometimes, age and experience count for a lot. Here, there are a lot of both.
Below is his email. It's not the sort of thing we would normally post, but we do like a happy customer and always aim for complete satisfaction.
Our 90 plus 5 star Google reviews should prove that.
The above picture isn't relevant, but it's one we like.
😊

Hi Pete,

WOW! It's not the same car!

I would have never thought that re jetting the carb would have made such a difference!

Travelling up the a49, with its wide sweeping bends was a delight, the engine being willing right through the rev range (the flat spot of old was gone),the speeds I was cruising at were at least 15mph higher than I was used to.

Not only that, the brakes were now so much better, and the looseness in the steering was now gone.making the whole package much more usable and enjoyable!

Thanks a lot, Pete. You certainly know your stuff.

Cheers, Steve ***********

Address

Hereford
HR13AS

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 6am
Tuesday 8:30am - 6am
Wednesday 8:30am - 6am
Thursday 8:30am - 6am
Friday 8:30am - 6am
Saturday 8:30am - 12:30pm

Telephone

+447557388828

Website

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