Golden Age YA Sci-Fi, Andromeda galaxy alien, space travel

This is SUPER fuzzy but I got a book about 35 years ago which I would date to the 50s or 60s based on my memory. I think the cover was like a taupe-brown, it was hardcover and I didn't have a dust jacket as it was from the library book sale.

The plot involved a boy who met an alien from the Andromeda galaxy. I want to say they built a spaceship in the boy's garage, and it might have been cardboard? But the alien somehow made it work and they launched and traveled through space.

I \*think\* the spaceship ran on candy, which I know sounds a lot like ET. It's possible my brain has mixed them up but I really think it was in this book.

YA, chapter book, I don't remember any illustrations. Somewhere in the 150-200 page range, perhaps?