I REALLY hope that you are not continuing to start this engine.
With the noises that you described, it needs to be transported to a competent mechanic’s shop on a flatbed truck, and the engine should not be started.
The low oil may have damaged the insides of the engine. If so the engine probably will need to be rebuilt or replaced to return your car to a reliable runner. You’d need a shop’s diagnosis to know for sure. Besides a damaged engine needing replacement, there’s one other thing that can cause a similar symptom, severe pinging. Folks usually report that as sounding like shaking a tin can filled with nuts and bolts, and really loud. The ignition timing would have to be way off for that to happen, and that sort of pinging can damage the engine. So it appears the best bet is to tow your car to a nearby shop and go from there.
Hmm well that’s your problem right there. If it has an oil cap that says “motorcraft” on it I don’t even want to know how the other owner maintained that vehicle lol. I know this is an old thread but has it been fixed? Any idea what the problem was?
The problem was most likely a severely stretched-out timing chain/damage timing chain guides, and the owner either “fixed” it by replacing the engine, or by junking the car. If it was purchased from a “buy here pay here” type dealer, they most likely knew it was a bad engine, and probably did something to it to make it run long enough to be sold to an unsuspecting customer.