"Wherever there was a seal, I put in a new one," he says.
The car belonged to a Lexington construction contractor and horse farmer owner, Sims says.
"He bought it new back in 1960, and he used it primarily to drive to construction sites and around his horse farm," Sims says. "His favorite vehicle was a Cadillac."
Sims declines to say how much he spent for the Jeep in 2004 but says today it probably is worth between $4,500 and $10,000.
"I wouldn't take $20,000 for it," he says. "I love it that much."
Sims just plain loves Jeeps.
"I'm a Jeep freak," he says. "I love going Jeep-ing."
Love affair began as a child
Sims says his love affair with the Jeep began when he was a child and sometimes rode in one driven by his grandfather, the late J.D. Wilson, a longtime fish and wildlife officer.
"I learned to drive in a 1958 Willis-Kaiser CJ5," he says, noting that "CJ" stands for civilian Jeep. "And my first car when I was 16 was a 1983 Willis-Kaiser CJ7."
He also has owned a 1947 Willis-Kaiser CJ7ZA.
"It's a vehicle with a fascinating history, dating back to 1946 when the first civilian Jeep went on the market," he says. "And the market was there for it with all those veterans who had driven the military models during World War II back home."
Sims says he drives his 1960 Jeep to work and on fishing trips. It tows his boat.
"It's my toy," he says.
And he doesn't mind that his "toy" is a gas guzzler.
"It gets six to 10 miles per gallon," he says. "But I don't take it on long trips or anything and don't drive it much in the winter."
During the short trips that he does take, he loves every second of the journeys.
"I enjoy the daylights out of that Jeep," he says. "I love Jeeping, especially in the older models like the 1960 Willis."
