Chevrolet Silverado completely freezes after it falls into a lake

  • This Chevrolet Silverado was frozen solid after it fell into a lake 
  • It was rescued by rebuild expert Alex Palmeri
  • Despite having ice everywhere, he thinks he can fix it

Published on Jan 26, 2025 at 4:00 PM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid

Last updated on Jan 22, 2025 at 10:01 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Kate Bain

This 2015 Chevrolet Silverado was frozen solid after it fell into a lake – but it was rescued by a rebuild expert who was determined to get it back on the road. 

The Chevrolet Silverado LTZ had done just 50,000 miles when it ended up having an unfortunate run-in with an icy lake in Wisconsin. 

The Chevy was completely frozen and, after being hoisted out, was branded a write-off by its insurers. 

However, one car enthusiast decided to take a chance on the Chevy.

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The Chevrolet Silverado had to be hauled out of a lake

Alex Palmeri, from the Legit Street Cars YouTube channel, has taken on more than his fair share of tough rebuilds and restorations.

He’s previously tackled this broken 1961 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II, which came with plenty of unexpected challenges, and this Dodge Hellcat, that he quickly dubbed the Smellcat

So when the opportunity arose for Palmeri to bag this 2015 Chevrolet Silverado for $5,300 he took it – even though the car was labeled a write-off. 

At first, Palmeri was hopeful that it was only the Chevy’s backend that took a dip in the water but after spotting water droplets behind the vehicle’s digital cluster he realized that it had got into the cabin, too. 

This also meant the seats were covered in mold and blocks of ice had filled the cup-holders – and that was just the start.

The Chevy was completely filled with ice and water

The 2015 Chevrolet Silverado LTZ rolled off the production line with a 5.3 liter V8 capable of producing 355 horsepower but this was now completely seized due to its time in the lake. Ouch. 

As he took a closer look at the vehicle he found ice just about everywhere he looked, from the sparkplugs to the intake valves, into the exhaust manifold, and even the ignition. 

Palmeri turned up the heat at his auto shop and watched on as the ice melted and began to flow out of the Chevy. 

The transmission was completely waterlogged, as were the exhaust system and the oil tank. 

But despite all of that, Plameri still managed to get the engine to spin – and he’s got high hopes for a complete restoration. 

If anyone can get this Chevy back to life, surely it’s this guy.

With a background in both local and national press in the UK, Claire moved to New Zealand before joining the editorial team at Supercar Blondie in May 2024. As a Senior Content Writer working on New Zealand Standard Time (NZST), Claire was the first writer on the team to make the site’s output a slick 24/7 operation covering the latest in automotive news.