My 88 Escort had a blown head gasket when i bought it and i stil insisted on pushing it untill it was smoking white. Rather then pay 1000
to replace the cracked head i would rather put in a different engine with more potential in the future. Does anyone have any suggestions???

The 1.9 GT HO motor is the best motor that can easly fit in that chassie. It has lots of potential.
Just put in a fresh 1.9 GT motor and turbo it using a Escort 1.6 turbo/manifold/down pipe and electronic's, 2.3 Turbo coupe electronics will work to.

The KL-ZE motor is the J-spec version of the KL-03 2.5L V6, found in the 93-97 Probe GT. This swap requires a wide variety of parts not found on any stock Escort, LX or GT. So this swap would be good for all trim levels of Escort, but does require quite a bit of research and preparation prior starting. This motor boasts 200HP at the crank, and is Naturally Aspirated.

The KL-ZE motor is the J-spec version of the KL-03 2.5L V6, found in the 93-97 Probe GT. This swap requires a wide variety of parts not found on any stock Escort, LX or GT. So this swap would be good for all trim levels of Escort, but does require quite a bit of research and preparation prior starting. This motor boasts 200HP at the crank, and is Naturally Aspirated.
That's great...BUT the Mazda motor's dont bolt into the First gen Escort, it's an all ford chassie. The mazda motor's only bolt into the second and third gen Escorts. His is a 88, that's a First Gen.