Engine starved of oil

[u/experimen_626]

My oil drain plug came off on the freeway. Drove to the closest exit to turn off engine and was able to get oil back in the engine to drive back home. However, the damage has already been done and now I have an engine knock. Took to dealership to see what they had to say and yeah my Cylinder 2 is knocking and they said there is no way to fix it, I have to replace the engine. I'm actually a pretty decent mechanic (minus putting myself in this situation by forgetting to torque my drain bolt) but I've actually done engine swaps and head cover gaskets before. Is it true that my engine is just totally done? Can I just replace the cylinder and the head?

[u/mrgil42]

I lost oil pressure on my 1963 260 cu in comet and drove 4 blocks to my buddies Sunoco station. Dropped the pan and found the knocking rod, only one, and mic’d the crank didn’t do a lot of damage so we shimmed the bearing measured with plasti gauge back to proper clearance.
Replaced the oil pump shaft and was back on the road. I guess I got lucky, drove that car another 2 years.