As long a RI Springfield is SN 285,507 or higher it might make a good start to a 35 Whelen or a 7x57. That is not exactly a lightweight action so I am guessing you will end up with a fairly heavy rifle when you are finished. Heavy rifles help calm the recoil of cartridges such as the Whelen.
If someone else has spent the cash to sporterize the action and it has a good sporter stock the major outlay will be a new barrel that matches the same general quality as the rest of the rifle.
I have gone down this road before with Mauser actions. I ended up with heavy and expensive rifles. It is easy to spend way over budget on this type of build!