Ignore the dimensions and just buy whatever. It will fit.
Not at first, but I'll share with you the secret. 
Take a 2x4 and insert it into the radio hole with the radio out. Take a hammer, large, and smack the 2x4 repeatedly bending the stupid bracket in the back. 
Now install your stereo. 

I've put at least a dozen stereos in Vanagon with this method and it works. Everything I've ever used has fit. 
With that said I like pioneer. 

-craig

On Aug 26, 2012, at 11:17 AM, Art <awa0330@GMAIL.COM> wrote:

> I bought an Alpine CDE-124SXM. Crutchfield said it wouldn't fit.  It fit
> easily with room to spare, and we discovered that there are far more radios
> that will fit the Vanagon than Crutchfield allows.  The radio works great,
> has CD, satellite, USB, iPod synch, Bluetooth, telephone integration (which
> I don't really use because of cabin noise), BUT does not have a tape player
> .It sold for about $160.  Maybe you can look for comparable same brand
> radios with tape, although I imagine they are getting hard(er) to find. I
> did upgrade the speakers with inexpensive off the rack choices at Best Buy
> as well.  A true audiophile wouldn't be happy, but I just wanted something
> that would sound good above the internal noise of the vehicle.  You may want
> to consider slowly burning CDs of your tapes at home to convert them.
> 
> Art
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: George Laubach
> Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2012 10:56 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Need Recommendation: Audio System for 85 Vanagon
> 
> Jon,
> 
> I put in a Blaupunkt last year, if you want to go German.  Crutchfield. Fits
> fine.  Maybe not the best, but I was buying name. Not premium priced,
> either.
> 
> Skip
> 
> Sent from my iPad
> 
> On Aug 26, 2012, at 9:33 AM, Jon Durham <jon_durham@KNOLOGY.NET> wrote:
> 
>> I replaced the original Heidelberg radio with a Sony in 92. Fit
>> perfectly but has given up the ghost. Now I can't seem to find one that
>> fits.
>> 
>> I'm interested in a radio/tape combination with a CD changer but will
>> settle on a radio/CD player if need be.
>> --
>> “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the
>> way its animals are treated” --Gandhi