Freelander 1 Anyone fitted R75 wheel controls to the Freelanders wheel?

As per the title really. I'm after some slightly betting looking steering wheel controls for my TD4 SE. I'm also planning on fitting CC soon to. I'm finding that Freelander wheel CC controls are stupidly expensive and rather hard to find. So being on a budget, I've been looking for a budget solution. I noticed that Rover 75 wheel controls are larger and closer to the wheel rim than the Freelanders controls, also, more importantly, R75 controls are considerably cheaper. For this reason and for looks I was thinking about fitting a set of these instead. However I don't known if the R75 controls actually fit in space available on the Freelander's wheel. So if anyone has fitted them, or knows if there is space for the R75 controls, I'd very much like to know.
Thanks in advance.

I know its hugely more complicated these days than it used to be, but knowing how Rovers from that era and Freelanders share so many parts bins, its not possible that you could use the 75's wheel complete? Does it use the same SRS?

GrumpyGel said:

I know its hugely more complicated these days than it used to be, but knowing how Rovers from that era and Freelanders share so many parts bins, its not possible that you could use the 75's wheel complete? Does it use the same SRS?

Click to expand...

I have thought about that too GG. The wheel could probably be made to fit. However it's a slightly different design, being flatter then the Freelander's wheel. This would increase the distance from the seat.
The clock springs are the same however so wiring shouldn't be a problem. The SRS is also likely compatible.

Maybe rather than controls being actually on the steering wheel, how about on pods mounted from the steering column? The controls on a Subaru Vortex/XT look so cool (if rather tacky!)...

GrumpyGel said:

Maybe rather than controls being actually on the steering wheel, how about on pods mounted from the steering column? The controls on a Subaru Vortex/XT look so cool (if rather tacky!)...

Click to expand...

No that's not for me. The one thing I missed when I sold my D3 was the controls on the wheel. Sadly the wheel from a D3 definitely won't fit the FL1. R75 is as close as MGR got to that design which is why I'm exploring that avenue.

The R75 MGZT wheel controls are much more modern looking and closer to the face of the wheel.


It would be helpful if someone with a R75 could measure the length of the switch for me. The Freelander will accommodate a switch pack of 95mm long which I think is enough for the 75 switches.