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I ran some searches to get a feel for the Ford and MF tractors you mentioned. Both those models appear to span the 60's and 70's, which means they overlap a few series in the John Deere lineup. In comparable HP and vintage, the closest matches seem to be the 2020, 2030, 2240 and 2440. The 2020 is 50 hp, from the late 60's and early 70's.
The 2030 is 50 hp, from the early-to-mid 70's.
The 2240 at 50 hp and the 2440 at 60 hp are from the late 70's and early 80's. Unfortunately, I saw quite a few listed, but apparently that's a very popular size of used tractor. What I'm getting at is the price, as they appear to be quite a bit more expensive than the Ford 4000's and MF 165's that were turned up by the same search engine. However, if it were me, and I was willing to pay that bit more for one of those comparable JD's I listed, I would choose something else entirely. What I'm speaking of is a 4230 (100 hp) or 4030 (80 hp), both built in the early-to-mid 70's. Why? You get MUCH more tractor, and it can be had for about the same or LESS money! You also have more options to look for. You can look for open station, 4-post canopy or full cab. Choose Quad-Range or Powershift transmission. Naturally, they are a little bit bigger (physically - length, height...) than the others, which are 'compact' tractors. However, they're not really big, and they're still agile machines. You'd be able to pull (and stop) a lot more weight than you would with a compact tractor. I think you'd just get a lot more use out of one of these two, and have a more comfortable experience running one. I am a bit biased, because the first tractor I worked with was a 4230. We still have it, and since then we've gotten two more. All three of them still work hard around the farm, but two of them do almost all of the hay making. All three have the Quad-Range transmission, which has been a very reliable and maintenance-free unit. One quirk with the Q-R is parking on a slope. It can be hard to get out of park when on a grade. When the nose is downhill, shift the gear lever into reverse and start to slip the clutch to get it to pop out of park. Nose uphill is the same trick, but shift into a forward gear instead of reverse to persuade it out of park. The engines also tend to be hard to start for the first time on a cool or cold day, so having a can of starting fluid handy to give it a little spritz would be a good thing. I can't think of anything else that's notable, other than an occassional leak here or there, but you have to expect some o-rings and seals to wear out over time. So, I'd recommend a 4230 or 4030. Twice the power you're looking for, but should be close to the price range you're shopping in. If you have a garage or barn in mind to keep your tractor in, take some measurements and go take a look at one to see if it'll fit. They're really not all that much larger than the compacts, but you might not have much room to spare, either. Good hunting.
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