Austin,
It's a total crapshoot for you to find the right book without a title, especially 50 years after the fact. While his story might be Return to Thunder Road (the book the movie was made from) there were way too many hot rod stories in the 50's & 60's to be sure. Can you perhaps find a way to learn the title of the book your Dad liked so much, like "Hey Dad, what was that book you read as a kid about the shoebox Ford where the guy died in a wreck?", or "Hey Dad, did they ever make a movie about that book you liked where the guy got killed in a shoebox Ford?"