Having built a few rifles on milsurp mausers on a budget, a 35 whelen with a midway barrel and a 458 lott with a ruger #1 takeoff, I'd say the result is a heavy clunky rifle that will cost more than a new factory rifle and won't do anything better and in many ways is a step backwards.
Now if you're looking for a classic custom rifle by all means get a good smith and go all out, but you're looking at $3k minimum and can easily go higher if you go for a custom wood stock and fancy metal work.
If you want a decent sporting crf 35 whelen start with a Ruger M77 mkII or Winchester 70 and either have them rebarreled or rebored, or better yet find one of the Rugers so built by the factory.
There are a lot of ways to try and save a buck and end up with less than what you really wanted, been there done that more than once. There's also figuring out what you really want, paying what it costs and being done with it.
Paul, pretty sure you have seen some of my mausers... but thinking especially about a 32 Mex in 7x57... very hard to call it clunky or slow. Even tougher to call it heavy at well under 7 pounds, loaded, scoped, and slung.
There is tremendous variety in mausers and everything from incredibly handy to a monster is an option... doing the work yourself puts them into inexpensive play.
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
