306 trailing arm bearings

[Jakey]

Hello !
My other half has a 1995 (N) 306 Dturbo 3dr that has done just over 150k miles and is beginning to exhibit the classic signs of trailing arm bearings that are on the way out.... i.e. a slight "toe in" at the top of the rear wheels. I have read all the threads on the subject in the various sections of this forum and while the advice is very useful, I am also now slightly confused...
The general opinion seems to be that changing the bearings is a relatively cheap and easy process, and there are some great instructions for how to do so on this site.
However, most posters seem to imply that once the bearings have begun to go, the likelihood of there being damage to either the stub axle(s) or the trailing arm(s) is quite high - either as cause or effect of the bearing wear - and a replacement rear axle assembly (or part thereof) is the way most people seem to end up going. A couple of posters mention SSP in Devon as a way around this problem, but the £400 quoted on their website (for a fitted unit inc VAT) is a bit more than I had hoped to spend, and a long way from the lowly £20 or so for the new bearings. So I am left with finding a decent low mileage replacement axle. To add to this, it appears from the previous posts that you have to be careful in your selection of axle. Apparently you can't just whip the axle off any old ZX or 306 or you'll end up having to do a lot of jiggery pokery to get the torsion bars correctly set - or have a very funny looking rear end !
All this leads me to ask the following.....
Am I being overly pessimistic to assume that bearings alone won't solve the problem ?
As there won't be many low mileage Series 1 306's around, does anyone know whether an axle from a later Series 306 Dturbo will be suitable and what is that likely to cost?
Does it have to be a Dturbo ? And/or is there any compatibility at all across the ZX / 306 divide (avoiding an Austin Allegro-like stance) ... ?
If I found a replacement would it matter if it had disc brakes (non-ABS) ?
Is the £400 for a "new" SSP unit (and 2 year warranty) worth the peace of mind ?
Sorry about the ream of questions, but any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,