trying to narrow down choices between 3 brands/8 used tractors- opinions welcome! :)

[Farmer495]

The 294 is in fair condition for a 33 yr old tractor. I'm a bit leary of buying an old diesel mainly because so many people use ether on them as they age. I'm sure it was solidly built though. The JD 5320 is next closest to the MF in power/weight. Half the age..

See how it starts. If it starts fine with out ether than it's unlikely it's been abused with ether.

Perkins tend to start good cold anyways, have a 152 perkins in an MF that will start -10C/15F with no block heater, and that is sitting for a month (tractor seldom/never used in winter)

5320's weren't too bad, starting to get into plastic and hydraulic clutch packs, but it'd be a nice tractor in decent shape.