North Hills, Calif. (May 16, 2012) – Southern California-based custom-shop Galpin Auto Sports (G.A.S.) today announced the debut of its latest custom creation, a special Ford F-450 dubbed “The B.E.A.S.T.,” or Breaching Entry Assault System Trainer. The lifted black Ford was built in coordination with the leading law enforcement and military gear manufacturer 5.11 Tactical® as a way of demonstrating their new line of breaching and entry tools developed with Sweden Entry Tools (S.E.T.) for law enforcement, fire departments and Special Forces.
G.A.S. modified the heavy-duty Ford – which started life as an F-450 FX4 – with the mission of accommodating an easily deployable steel security door weighing more than 600 pounds from the bed of the truck that demonstrates how the tools function.
In addition to the fabrication work needed to accommodate the steel door and breaching tools display – which included mounting hardware and a custom utility box required to stow and hide the security door – G.A.S. also customized the truck with a variety of hand-fabricated and custom-tailored pieces that include:
Interior
Tires, Wheels and Suspension
Exterior
Rear Utility Cover
Following its debut to a crowd of special operators and LAPD SWAT Team members at G.A.S. in late April, the mobile marketing and demonstration platform will tour the country visiting national and regional SWAT team conferences and special operator symposiums’ showcasing the new tools 5.11 Tactical® developed in conjunction with S.E.T.
A full calendar of events The B.E.A.S.T. will be attending is available by visiting the 5.11 Tactical® website at www.511tactical.com/breaching. For additional information on G.A.S. please visit, www.galpinautosports.com.
About Galpin Auto Sports
Galpin Auto Sports, located at 15600 Roscoe Blvd. in Van Nuys offers customizing and personalizing services on all new and pre-owned vehicles including hot rod, collector and classic cars. Galpin has been customizing vehicles for more than 50 years, pioneering many automotive customizing firsts, and was the official garage for MTV’s Pimp My Ride. For more information on Galpin Auto Sports’ unique products and services, please contact G.A.S. General Manager, Steve McCord (smccord@galpin.com), at (877)-GO-GAS-GO or visit the website at www.galpinautosports.com.
About 5.11 Tactical Series®
5.11 Tactical Series®, with the assistance of public safety individuals, creates innovative products that enhance the safety, speed and performance of law enforcement, military, fire and EMS professionals worldwide. Built on a foundation of durability, quality and value that began with the authentic 5.11 Tactical Pant, 5.11’s team of over 400 employees leads the industry in delivering the world’s most innovative gear, head to toe. By working directly with end-users and utilizing the expertise of highly qualified subject matter experts, all 5.11 products exceed rigorous and exacting standards. Learn more about 5.11’s best-selling tactical clothing, uniforms, station-wear, outerwear, footwear and accessories at www.5.11Tactical.com.
About S.E.T.
Two leading team members from a Swedish HRT team created Sweden Entry Tools (SET). Lars Ingesson has been the Lead Breacher and instructor on the full-time HRT team since 2000 and was the head of Sweden’s National Breaching Project when the tools were first developed. Lars has trained many of the best-known tactical teams in Europe in mechanical and explosive breaching. Patrik is a former HRT Team Leader with an engineering background.